Spiriva and Atrovent Study Reveals Troubling Trend.
24 million people in the United States suffer from a truly terrible condition known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). No one is completely sure what causes COPD, but there are strong links between those who do contract COPD and those who smoke habitually. Additionally, there is no known cure for COPD, and at this point, drug companies have only been able to come up with medications that help manage the symptoms.
Two of the most prominent medications on the market today are known as Spiriva and Atrovent, and their use is quite prevalent. Estimates indicate that 8 million people around the world, and the drugs were approved for release onto the marketplace by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
COPD, as stated above, is very common in the United States, and it’s a progressive disease that affects the lungs and respiratory system. The strongest link to its development is smoking and symptoms include restricted breathing, secretion of mucus, oxidative stress and inflammation of the airway.
Spiriva and Atrovent were designed to be used as inhalants to help clear the airways to and from the lungs to make breathing easier for those who suffer from COPD, as this difficulty in breathing obviously negatively affected patients’ lifestyles and resulting overall health. For six years, the results of use of these medications were promising.
Problems with heart attacks and strokes.
However, the publication of a recent study in relation to these drugs proved to be especially troubling. Researchers at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center conducted a meta-study, which basically combines results of several smaller studies that seek information regarding the same medications, and their results were published in medical journals.
Unfortunately, these studies showed that those who used these medications were exposed to a much higher risk of eventually suffering from heart attacks and strokes than those who didn’t. Specifically, the increased risk was quantified to be 53 percent for heart attacks, 80 percent for cardiovascular death and 46 percent for strokes. The patients studied used these medications for a period of 30 days.
Your Next Step if harmed from Spiriva.
Although no action has been taken by the FDA or the federal government as of this writing, this study will surely increase scrutiny on these medications. If you or someone you love has suffered as a result of using Spiriva or Atrovent, you need to contact a defective drugs attorney as soon as possible to schedule an initial consultation. You could have legal rights and options available to you, but you need the help of an attorney to obtain accurate answers to those questions.
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