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Risk of Heart Attack Not Reduced With Prescribed Zetia

Article Summary: Zetia is a cholesterol lowering prescription drug that uses another generic ingredient known as Vytorin. However, a study of the two drugs uncovered that while being more expensive than other more generic versions, Zetia and Vytorin did not lower cholesterol and were less likely to decrease the risk of heart disease and heart attack.

Recently, drug manufacturer Merck and chemical research company Schering-Plough announced a new medication to combat high cholesterol. Zetia, known chemically as Ezetimibe, is an anti-hyperlipidemic medication, which is used to lower cholesterol levels. Zetia is marketed as an alternative to statin therapy. It acts by decreasing cholesterol absorption in the intestine. Zetia has also been combined with statin therapy in a single pill marketed as Vytorin.

But, the company continued to delay the study's results. It was not until the media picked up on the company's suspect behavior and delay that the announcement came for the final deadline "soon" in December of 2007. Results of the trial study weren't made available publicly until January 2008. The media interpreted the results of the study as negative and dangerous to patients. The study's results included information that the drugs were not only reducing the fatty plaque growth in arteries, but that they actually contributed to an increase of such growth.

The results of the study quickly were made available to representatives in Congress. The chairmen and CEOs of Schering-Plough and Merck were contacted by several congressional figures including the chairmen of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding the drugs' misrepresentation to patients. The correspondence calls into question the lighthearted nature of the Zetia and Vytorin commercials and the misleading information they insinuate. Inquiries were made by congressional leaders as to why results of the study were in the hands of manufacturers while television commercials advertised the opposite resulted outcomes of the drug to innocent individuals in the United States.

This one result leads many to believe that several cardiac complications and events could have been enabled by taking medication specifically prescribed to as a support for people at high risk for such problems. Recently, Zetia lawsuits have been filed in several states, charging that Merck and Schering-Plough deliberately withheld the information from the ENHANCE trial proving that Zetia provided no reduction in the frequency of cardiovascular events. Nor did they report information suggesting Zetia side effects where Zetia could be the cause of serious liver damage. Thus far, the lawsuits seek compensation for the cost of the medication to the consumers named as plaintiffs, however, this is only the beginning, as it is highly likely that that many Zetia lawsuits claiming health complications and damages will emerge.

It would be wise for anyone who has firsthand experience with potential complications arising from taking Zetia or Ezetimibe in any form to contact their health care provider as soon as possible, and to seriously consider contacting a Zetia lawyer in order to recoup any damages you or someone who has been affected by this medication could be entitled to through a Zetia law suit.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Peter Kent
Visit http://www.LegalView.com and find information medical issues such as the Baxter Heparin recall or the Trasylol injection side effects. Also learn about Avandia at http://avandia.legalview.com, which is a type 2 diabetes prescription drug that has been linked to heart disease and osteoporosis.