Celebrex Linked to Heart Attacks & Strokes
In December 2004, a study revealed that Celebrex more than doubled the risk of heart deaths, heart attacks, and strokes. Those who took 400 mg of Celebrex a day had 2.5 times as many heart deaths, heart attacks, and strokes as those who did not take the drug. The risk of these injuries was more than tripled in certain patients who took very larges doseages. Those who took 800 mg of Celebrex a day had 3.4 times more of these cardiovascular injuries.
Celebrex is Cox-2 inhibitor drug, like Vioxx and Bextra, which were both taken off the market because of serious side effects. Cox-2 drugs are part of the NSAID family of drugs, which includes aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. Cox-2 drugs like Celebrex, are not more effective at treating pain than other NSAIDs, but are believed to be easier on the stomach than other drugs. However, since most people can tolerate older NSAIDs just fine, Celebrex should not be given to everyone.
Celebrex is very similar to Vioxx and Bextra, which were both taken off the market. Vioxx was removed from the market on September 30, 2004. The recall came after a three-year study linked Vioxx to increased risk of heart attack, stroke and sudden cardiac death. Merck recently announced a settlement agreement which would resolve most of the pending Vioxx related lawsuits against the company.
On April 7, 2005, the FDA requested that Pfizer withdraw Bextra from the U.S. market. The FDA stated that they have requested the voluntary withdrawal of Bextra because they decided that the risks of the drug outweighed the benefits. In addition to the risks of heart death, heart attack and strokes, the FDA was also concerned about life-threatening skin reactions known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome that was associated with Bextra.