Stroke, Heart Attack, Kidney Failure – Was Avandia to Blame?

Reno, NVLisa's father was diabetic and like many diabetics, he had difficulty regulating his blood sugar. So his doctor put him on Avandia to help. He died 18 months later.

Lisa's father was on Avandia in addition to other standard diabetes medications. One day, quite out of the blue, he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. While he was in hospital, three days into his stay, he suffered a massive heart attack.

"He was sitting there talking to the nurse after dinner and he began to have a heart attack," Lisa said. "They were shocked; they did not see this coming. He wasn't even on a heart monitor. He just started coding in front of the nurse. I talked to her afterward, and she was completely surprised by it." The doctors told Lisa that her father's arteries were in very bad shape."They said they were completely blocked. They performed bypass surgery, but then his kidneys failed, and he just didn't make it.

At the time I didn't think that any of the medications he was taking might be to blame. It was just so horribly tragic. Then I heard that Avandia is being linked to heart attacks. Someone I know called me up and said, 'Your Dad was on Avandia wasn't he?' So I decided to follow-up on it because it would be remiss if I didn't. Just last week I requested his prescription records, because I want to know exactly how long he was on the drug. I took care of him, and he was on the drug for about a year, if I remember correctly. He began taking Avandia in 2003. He died in 2004."

While Lisa's father was on Avandia he developed some of the side effects that have come to be associated with the drug, in recent reports, specifically swollen legs – or edema, breathlessness. "About six months before he had the stroke, the swelling began," Lisa said."His legs were really swollen."

Many patients taking diabetics drugs Avandia and Avandamet have experienced adverse side effects such as swelling of the legs and feet and blurred vision, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2007, GlaxoSmithKline agreed to make labelling changes – specifically a boxed warning concerning the increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events seen in people using the drug.

However, the FDA also stated that there is not currently enough evidence to indicate that the risks for serious adverse events, including those that could possibly cause death, are different from those seen with other orally administered type 2 diabetes medications. Consequently, Avandia will be evaluated in a long-term safety study comparing it to other oral diabetes medications.

Unfortunately, the study won't begin before the end of 2008, and the final report on study outcomes isn't due at the FDA until 2014.

"My father was only 63 when he died," Lisa said. "I don't know anything about Avandia except that they're linking it to heart attacks. I tell you, if my father had known that the drug could cause heart attacks, he would not have taken it. My father didn't like taking medications. I want to find out if Avandia did contribute to my father's death. I would really like some answers."