An aortic tear is a potentially life-threatening problem that can lead to heart attack, stroke, and other serious complications. Unfortunately, patients may be unaware that the popular antibiotic Levaquin may be one of the aortic tear causes, placing them at serious risk. If you or someone you love has suffered from aortic tearing or other side effects after using Levaquin, you may be able to file a lawsuit.

What is an Aortic Tear?

An aortic tear, also commonly referred to as an aortic dissection, is a tear in the inner layer of the aorta. The aorta is the body’s main blood vessel (or artery). Since the aorta’s primary responsibility is to carry blood out of the heart, any damage done to it can be quite serious. And indeed, an aortic tear is a potentially life-threatening condition.

When the aorta tears, blood can move into the aortic wall, weakening the wall’s layers as it pushes between them, which can cause dangerous or even fatal rupturing or leaking problems. Patients who suffer from an aortic tear may experience restricted blood flow to major organs. This can lead to heart attack, stroke, paralysis, and kidney failure, among other complications.

Aortic Tear Causes

Patients may face a number of aortic tear causes, such as high blood pressure, birth defects, or traumatic injury. Aortic tear causes can also include exposure to certain drugs, including fluoroquinolone medications like the antibiotic Levaquin.

Fluoroquinolones like Levaquin are broad-spectrum antibiotics used to treat a variety of common bacterial infections including pneumonia, urinary tract infections, bronchitis, typhoid fever, and many others.

Unfortunately, Levaquin and other fluoroquinolones have been linked with some serious side effects, including an increased risk of aortic tearing, which in some cases can become fatal.

Recent studies have found that users of Levaquin and other fluoroquinolones face somewhere between a 124 percent and 143 percent increased risk of aortic dissection or aortic aneurysm. The risk of aortic dissection is greater in the first 60 days of exposure, though patients continue to face these risks long after those first two months.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a formal advisory in May 2016 ordering for the boxed warnings to be updated. In July 2016, the FDA further noted that the risk of aortic dissection posed by Levaquin and other fluoroquinolones generally outweighs their benefits.

Filing a Levaquin Lawsuit

Manufacturers of fluoroquinolone drugs like Levaquin have been hit with dozens of lawsuits so far. These lawsuits claim that these drugs caused serious or debilitating injuries, and that drug manufacturers failed to give adequate warning about these potentially serious antibiotic side effects to the public and to the medical community.

If you or someone you love has been prescribed Levaquin or another fluoroquinolone drug, and suffered because of the increased risk of aortic dissection, you may be able to file a Levaquin lawsuit against the drug’s manufacturers. Filing a Levaquin lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by antibiotic side effects, or bring a loved one back to life, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.