Avandia Heart Attack Attorney | Heart Failure Caused by Dangerous Drug Side Effect Lawsuits

Avandia has been linked to an increase rate of heart attacks. The information below is designed to inform victims and their loved ones of the key factors in Avandia heart attack claims and the compensation process.  If you have any further questions regarding Avandia Drug Injury Lawsuit feel free to contact our Law Firm to Speak to a Prescription Medication Drug Side Effects Attorney regarding your case. Development of Avandia as a Type 2 Diabetes Drug by GlaxoSmithKline: Avandia is the name under which the medication rosiglitazone is marketed as a standalone drug in the United States. When Avandia was first introduced in 1999, the medication was touted as a well-nigh revolutionary new approach to the management of type 2 diabetes. From the start, however, the company that developed, manufactured and distributed the medication was less than forthcoming about adverse side effects associated with this medication. GlaxoSmithKline covered up some important early research that strongly implied that rosiglitazone is linked to increased risk of myocardial infarction in certain patients. Such a cover-up would increase SmithKline Beecham’s liability in any subsequent law suit.

FDA Approval: When the Food and Drug Administration FDA approved Avandia (rosiglitazone) for use, the agency stipulated that GlaxoSmithKline oversee another study specifically dealing with the medication’s effects on the cardiovascular system. When that study was completed, it found that rosiglitazone did not pose any significant threat to cardiovascular health. Nonetheless, between 1999 and 2007, 83,000 patients taking rosiglitazone suffered heart attacks, which the FDA linked to the use of the medication. Critics have subsequently criticized GlaxoSmithKline’s report harshly as being untrustworthy due to its extremely poor design. In July 2012, the U.S. Justice Department announced that GlaxoSmithKline had paid a three billion dollar fine to settle criminal charges, in part over the company’s failure to report rosiglitazone drug safety information to the FDA in a timely fashion. GlaxoSmithKline pled guilty to the charges. Today, GlaxoSmithKline faces over 13,000 lawsuits associated with Avandia. The European Medicines Agency, the European Union’s analogue to the FDA, has recommended the drug be taken off the European market. In the United States, the FDA has placed significant restrictions on the pharmaceutical’s use. The medication can only be dispensed by mail order through certified physicians and pharmacies.

Type 2 Diabetes Medication and an Increased Rate of Heart Attacks Myocardial Infarction: The cells of the body get their energy from glucose. Insulin is the peptide hormone that facilitates the use of glucose by the cells. Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which either the body is not producing enough insulin for cells to use or the cells themselves have become insulin resistant. When glucose is not absorbed into cells, it builds up in the bloodstream. Elevated serum glucose levels are associated with a number of serious complications, including ketoacidosis, neuropathies and increased susceptibility to infection. Hypertension is another complication of untreated type 2 diabetes. Hypertension can lead to myocardial infarction and stroke. Even type 2 diabetes patients who are not being treated with rosiglitazone run a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular complications than members of the general population.

Avandia (Rosiglitazone) and Heart Disease: Unlike many diabetes medications, rosiglitazone is not an insulin replacement. Rather, the drug is an insulin sensitizer, binding with receptors on the membranes of cell nuclei that regulate the uptake of insulin in the cell. Rosiglitazone has therefore been prescribed not only for patients with type 2 diabetes, but also for patients who’ve been diagnosed with insulin resistance, a precursor condition to type 2 diabetes. While rosiglitazone has proven to be effective in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, increasingly researchers are finding that it’s associated with an elevated risk of heart disease. A 2007 study found that rosiglitazone increases the likelihood of heart attacks by 43 percent. That same year, the Senate Finance Committee accused GlaxoSmithKline of knowing about their drug’s association with heart attack risk well before the findings became public. In 2010, David Graham, the FDA’s own associate director of drug safety, recommended that rosiglitazone be withdrawn from the market. In 2010, GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay approximately $520 million to settle some 10,700 rosiglitazone-related suits filed against the company. Analysts for the global financial services company UBS say that total payouts on rosiglitazone-related lawsuits could go as high as six billion dollars before litigation is through.

Compensation for Your Injuries: What Type of Recovery Am I Entailed to for the Injuries Caused by a Dangerous Drugs

• All medical expenses and hospitalization costs associated dangerous side effects of Chantix
• Future medical and rehabilitation costs
• Loss of current income due to inability to work
• Loss of earning capacity Future loss or reduction on income
• Pain and Suffering including mental anguish, post traumatic stress, depression and anxiety disorders associated with taking Chantix
• Loss of consortium

Compensation for death of a loved one due to Avandia heart attack, stroke or heart failure. If a close relative or a loved one have die due to a heart attack, heart failure or stroke cause by the Taking of Avandia you may be entitled to compensation based on certain jurisdictional limitation on who may be able to recover.  For Instance: Under California Wrongful fatalities laws “A cause of action for the death of a person caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another may be asserted by any of the following persons or by the decedent’s personal representative on their behalf: (a) The decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children, or, if there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the persons, including the surviving spouse or domestic partner, who would be entitled to the property of the decedent by intestate succession.

Contact Our Law Firm if You have Any Further Questions: If you have any further questions and would like to speak with Avandia Adverse Effects Attorney regarding your claim call us toll free at (855) 385-2529, we are available 24 hours per day and seven days out of the week for your convenience. Downtown LA Law Group is a Nationwide California based Personal Injury Law Firm dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals who have suffered harm due to that taking of defective and dangerous prescription drug medication.