March 29, 2007, 12:00:00AM. By Jane Mundy

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Washington, DC: On March 29, 2007, the FDA pulled Permax from the U.S. market due to the risk of heart damage. Marketer Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, has voluntarily stopped sales after news reports that Permax can damage heart valves and cause them to leak. This news worries Beverly J. She took Permax for more than five years and was recently diagnosed with regurgitation of the aortic valve.

"I took Permax for my restless leg but I had to increase the dosage up to five a day," says Beverly. "At that time there was nothing else on the market - I was prescribed Permax in 2002."

"At one of my regular check-up's my doctor told me that I had to discontinue Permax because it could cause heart valve damage so I went off it cold turkey. I never did get rid of the restless leg but I did go on another medication that worked just as well.

Several months after I was off Permax, my doctor listened to my heart and found a murmur. I went for an EKG and the results came back - I had a problem with my heart valve, specifically a regurgitation problem. And my blood pressure went through the roof. I never had these problems before. At that time I asked my doctor if it had anything to do with Permax but he evaded my question. I have no idea why he wouldn't answer me.

I now have my heart checked regularly, every three months. I will be 86 years old in July and surgery hasn't been discussed. I would hate to think that Permax has caused worse problems for others but it must have because of this recall.

Personally I think drug companies should take more care and more clinical trials should be conducted before they put drugs on the market and cause so many problems, all in the name of money."

Permax (Generic name: pergolide mesylate), manufactured by Eli Lilly, has been prescribed to millions of people since it was approved in 1989 to treat Parkinson's disease and restless leg syndrome. Since that time, there has been a growing number of reports that Permax can cause a serious and life-threatening heart conditions such as cardiac valvulopathy and other serious heart problems. In two cases alone, heart valve replacement was needed for patients who had used Permax.

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