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Study of Cardiovascular Drug Dronedarone Ends Early Due to Severe Risk of Death from Drug

Published on Nov 17, 2011 at 8:40 am in Dangerous Drugs.

A recent study of the drug dronedarone, which is used to treat patients suffering from intermittent abnormal heart rhythm, had to be stopped early because of a high level of danger for many of the patients taking the drug. The study tested the drugs on patients who suffered from both intermittent and permanent heart arrhythmia, but many who took the drug that had a permanent condition suffered heart attack, stroke, and even death, according to USNews.com.

The heart rhythm disorder, known as atrial fibrillation (AF), affects approximately 2.7 million Americans, and it causes the top 2 chambers in the heart to beat erratically and often occurs in older patients. The trial included patients over 65 years old suffering from the disease and it used randomized testing that selected patients to use either drondarone or a placebo regularly. The study discovered that the risk of stroke, heart attack, and death was 2.2 times greater for those taking dronedarone than those on placebos.

In total, 43 dronedarone patients suffered a cardiovascular event or death. The risk of harm and death was high enough to warrant a shutdown of the study, with only around 30% of the planned 10,800 patients being tested.

Because of the results, a presentation at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions suggested that dronedarone not be used in any patient with permanent AF due to the high risk it presents.

Any time a prescribed drug works towards the opposite effect of what it is intended to do, the results can be catastrophic as it compounds the harm done by what it is supposed to be treating. As such, those who suffer, or the families of those that have died from a harmful drug, can seek compensation from those responsible.

Louisville dangerous drug attorney Tad Thomas is committed to using his years of experience to protect the rights of those injured by others’ negligence and winning them the compensation they need to move forward in life.

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Tad Thomas - Trial Lawyer

Tad Thomas

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Tad Thomas has dedicated his practice to representing plaintiffs in various types of civil litigation, including personal injury, business litigation, class actions, and multi-district litigation.

After graduating with his law degree in 2000 from Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, Mr. Thomas immediately opened his own private practice and began representing injury victims.

In 2011, Thomas Law Offices was established in Louisville, Kentucky. Over the past decade, Mr. Thomas has expanded his firm and now has offices in three additional locations: Cincinnati, Ohio, Columbia, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. He is also a frequent lecturer on topics like trial skills and ethics and technology.

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