Heart Problems from Heart Medicine?
A widely used heart-surgery medicine (Trasylol, standard treatment in many hospitals to stem blood loss in patients undergoing heart-bypass surgery) has been found to carry serious health risks.
A new study of 4,374 patients (published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine) found patients taking Trasylol were at an increased risk of kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes, compared with patients taking alternative drugs or no drugs at all.
After adjusting for the varying risk factors of the patients being compared, the study determined there was a 55% increase in the risk of heart attacks among the Trasylol group and a 181% increase in the risk of strokes.
The study is significant because it was conducted without drug-industry funding at 69 medical centers, including many of the top U.S. hospitals. It raises safety concerns that weren't flagged in company-sponsored research over the course of more than a decade of clinical use.
Read more at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113824252116356643.html?mod=health_home_stories
Dr. V's comment:
A heart surgery drug that causes heart problems? Ironic, but surprisingly common.
Drug safety has been attracting more and more interest lately. Especially in the past several years since we discovered that adverse drug reactions were the 4th leading cause of preventable death.
Along with “How can we make drugs safer?”, we might want to be asking “How can we make our hearts healthier (so we can avoid heart bypass surgery in the first place) ?”
The straight answer is that nearly all heart disease is a product of ‘lifestyle’—what we eat, what we drink, stress, etc. The good news is that dietary changes are the easiest to make and pay big dividends.
The easiest, most beneficial place to start is by supplementing with Omega-3 fatty acids, which help fight inflammation and help the heart stay healthy. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil have been consistently shown to help prevent all kinds of heart problems by:
A new study of 4,374 patients (published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine) found patients taking Trasylol were at an increased risk of kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes, compared with patients taking alternative drugs or no drugs at all.
After adjusting for the varying risk factors of the patients being compared, the study determined there was a 55% increase in the risk of heart attacks among the Trasylol group and a 181% increase in the risk of strokes.
The study is significant because it was conducted without drug-industry funding at 69 medical centers, including many of the top U.S. hospitals. It raises safety concerns that weren't flagged in company-sponsored research over the course of more than a decade of clinical use.
Read more at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113824252116356643.html?mod=health_home_stories
Dr. V's comment:
A heart surgery drug that causes heart problems? Ironic, but surprisingly common.
Drug safety has been attracting more and more interest lately. Especially in the past several years since we discovered that adverse drug reactions were the 4th leading cause of preventable death.
Along with “How can we make drugs safer?”, we might want to be asking “How can we make our hearts healthier (so we can avoid heart bypass surgery in the first place) ?”
The straight answer is that nearly all heart disease is a product of ‘lifestyle’—what we eat, what we drink, stress, etc. The good news is that dietary changes are the easiest to make and pay big dividends.
The easiest, most beneficial place to start is by supplementing with Omega-3 fatty acids, which help fight inflammation and help the heart stay healthy. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil have been consistently shown to help prevent all kinds of heart problems by:
- keeping arteries clean
- improving circulation
- promoting normal blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels
By feeding your body right, it can heal itself from the Inside. By giving it plenty of good fats, like the ones found in fish oil, you make its job that much easier.
Life is better from the Inside-Out...
Live Enthused,
Dr. Vince
posted by Dr. Vince at Thursday, January 26, 2006
<< Home