Vioxx heart risks ‘last longer than expected’

Vioxx side effects last up to a year The sale of pain medication Vioxx was discontinued by pharmaceutical company Merck in 2004 due to evidence that it increased users’ risk of heart attack, stroke and death.

Now, scientists have found evidence that cardiovascular risks from the drug lasted for as long as a year after people stopped taking it.

In light of these findings, Dr. Robert Bresalier of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center suggests that people who take other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) – particularly cox-2 inhibitors such as Celebrex – may want to exercise caution.

"Similar data has been evident for some of the other cox-2 inhibitors. In fact, it seems to be a class effect for most if not all NSAIDs," he commented.

"There is a dose-dependent risk with Celebrex as well, whose magnitude was not that much different from Vioxx."

Although NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen were not targeted in the study, Bresalier said that long-term use of these drugs may also carry cardiovascular risks.

In 2005, the FDA said that warnings about heart or stomach risks should be included on labeling for all NSAIDs.
ADNFCR-1960-ID-18827667-ADNFCR