Pfizer, the world’s largest drugmaker, on Friday warned doctors that its arthritis drug Bextra might increase the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack or stroke, in coronary bypass surgery patients.
The news comes just two weeks after Merck pulled its arthritis drug Vioxx from all worldwide markets after a study confirmed that it increases a patients’ risk of heart attack or stroke.
Bextra and Vioxx are members of the Cox-2 inhibitor class of drugs, which are used for the reduction of pain and inflammation caused by arthritis.
The company also updated Bextra’s warning label to include information regarding the risk of a very rare but serious skin reaction called Stevens-Johnson syndrome. In a press release, Pfizer said this risk exists with Bextra primarily within the first two weeks of therapy and, while very rare, at a reported rate greater than other COX-2 products, such as Celebrex.
Bextra was approved and introduced in the U.S. market in 2001.
(via PR Newswire)
9 responses so far ↓
mark andersen // Oct 20, 2004 at 3:27 pm
i don’t know if it has anything to do with it,but i took bextra for over two years and i had a severe heart attack this june.
John // Nov 10, 2004 at 11:47 am
wow, it seems none of the cox medications are safe. Anyone in Canada who had problems?
John B. // Nov 11, 2004 at 12:26 pm
I have suffered and lived through 3 Pulmonary embolisms October 20th and do not have a family history of them. An autonuclear antibody blood test was performed with the result of 1:2560 and normal being 1:320. I was told by my physician that my immune system was out of wack and the antibodies were attacking my good cells. I have been on blood thinners since October 20th of this year and was told I may have to continue for at least a minimum of 1 year. The doctors are still trying to figure out what caused it and it was not until today did I read an article in the local paper did I put 2and 2 together and will call my doctor.
I do believe I may have been affected by taking the drug Bextra for the past 2 years.
John Juenger // Nov 19, 2004 at 3:36 pm
I have relief with my knee pain but recently been evaluated for spots on my spleen has anyone heard of this! This week I have ran as far as 5 miles but no heart attack or chest pain. Should I be worried.
Brian T. Stavely // Nov 24, 2004 at 10:57 pm
I am the wife of Brian Stavely, my name is Esther. For the last 6 months my husband has been shaking suddenly on his sleep, I keep tellig him to go and see a doctor because the spasms he has are at nights so hard that i am afraid he by accident might hit me when she shakes. Tonight we were in bed and he told me he had heard something about bextra, he suggested I check with the pharmacist about side effects, he thinks that Bextra might be doing the samething Vioxx did to some patients. I told him I could not wait until I talked to the pharmacist and came and saw in the internet about Bextra. My husband was asking me to check on Bextra because he has been taking it for a long time and I started seeing him doing this rough movements while asleep, do you think he is in danger of having a heart attack? have you heard anyone that takes Bextra say that they have this same spasms? I am concerned, I do not want him to have a heart attack, how can we know this is a side effect of Bextra? I am concerned for his health.
NANCY M. // Nov 28, 2004 at 2:24 pm
John B. post made me gasp. My husband was put on Bextra and he went back for his blood work and his red blood cell count was 7.7. He was put in the hospital immediatley for a week. He had every test known to man and they found no internal bleeding, but they said his immune system is attacking his red blood cells. They don’t know why and it didn’t happen until he went on this Bextra. He is off it but we can’t get the blood up. He has been on steroids and now Procrit. This is not good.
Anna W Jones // Dec 30, 2004 at 7:56 am
I took Bextra for 2 years beginning in June of 2002. After a complete cardiac evaluation last December, 2003 I sufferred an acute MI August 28, 2004. My heart stopped. I was successfully converted after the third attempt.
Julie Ann Bannister-Lyons // Dec 31, 2004 at 10:18 am
Bextra does nothing compared to my Vioxx meds I took for the last 3 years.
barbara m // Apr 6, 2005 at 12:52 pm
I was on all 3 of the cox 2 pills and 9 months ago I land a pace maker . can anyone tell me if these meds had anything to do with getting one? My heart was fine as I was a over the road truck driver and I use to wreasle with my 5 sons.
Thanks
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