Chantix and Heart Attacks/Stroke
According to a recent study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the smoke cessation drug Chantix, made by Pfizer, is linked to a small but statistically significant increased risk of cardiovascular events. In fact, it suggests that 1 in every 28 patients receiving Chantix would experience a serious cardiovascular risk such as a heart attack or stroke.
The study contains a meta-analysis of 14 earlier Chantix trials that included more than 8,200 patients. Only one of the studies included in the meta-analysis involved patients with pre-existing heart problems. The study also found that people with no signs of heart problems possibly face the highest risks from Chantix.
And all of this was after the FDA already added new warnings to Chantix related to a heart risk in people with a pre-existing condition. In June 2011, the FDA issued a warning to physicians that the users of Chantix and Zyban (also known as Wellbutrin and manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline), face an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.
One of the authors of the Study was quoted in the New York Times: “The risk is substantial, the risk is present in smokers without heart disease, and Pfizer knew about this for five years.”
Since its approval in 2006, Chantix has been prescribed to millions of people, making it the best-selling smoking cessation drug on the market. But it has long been associated with psychiatric side effects, including suicidal thoughts and behavior. In 2009, the FDA announced that a Boxed Warning would be added to the Chantix label because of such problems.
If you or a loved one have suffered a cardiac event as a result of ingesting Chantix or Zyban, please contact the attorneys at Pogust Braslow & Millrood.
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