Drug study-psych meds increase heart attacks!

2009-01-16 17:16:39 (GMT) (JusticeNewsFlash.com - Product liability)

Drugs-Zyprexa and Risperdal increase heart attacks

New England Medical Journal says new psych drugs are not safer.

New York, NY (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–Bloomberg reported today, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study this week saying new psych medications increase patient’s risk of heart attacks. The study shows the newer class of anti-psychotic medications double the risk for sudden cardiac death. The newer medications, known as atypicals, include Zypexa, manufactured by Eli Lilly & Co. and Risperdal, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. The risk of heart attack for people taking these antipsychotic medications further increases with the dosing.

Big pharmaceutical companies made these drugs and released them in the mid-1990’s, in response to concerns about serious risks involved with taking older medications like Haldol and Thorazine. The drug companies claimed the new antipsychotics (atypicals) were safer for patients and had fewer side effects. The journal’s recently published study along with studies in the past few years reflect differently. These drugs have also been linked to increased risks of obesity and diabetes. With $20.7 billion in global sales, these newer drugs have become the 6th best-selling class of drugs in the world.

The real concern among most medical and legal experts is fewer than half of all prescriptions, for the newer drugs, are for patients suffering from a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia. These atypical medications are being prescribed for off-label uses in children and the elderly. Children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and elderly patients suffering from agitation with dementia are also prescribed these drugs by their doctors. Psychiatrists are also prescribing these medications for patients suffering from bipolar disease, a mood disorder.

When these medications became available, by prescription from medical doctors, approximately 15 years ago, they were marketed by big pharmaceutical companies as safer and gentler. Atypical antipsychotics have been specifically marketed as safer than the older drugs known to increase health risks.

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