The diabetes drug Onglyza has been linked to heart failure.

Onglyza maker AstraZeneca may face Onglyza heart lawsuits after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that the type-2 diabetes drug has severe heart side effects, which increase the chance of death for patients taking the drug.

Onglyza lawsuits will help consumers who may have been harmed by drug makers Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, who allegedly violated consumer protection laws and failed to warn the medical community and general public about serious health risks associated with taking the medication.

Onglyza, generically known as saxagliptin, is a popular treatment for type-2 diabetes that helps patients with diabetes maintain a healthy level of blood sugar. It is a selective dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, which works by stimulating the production of insulin in the pancreas.

After hitting the market in 2009, Onglyza quickly gained consumer popularity after Avandia, a well known diabetes medication, was recalled due to a serious increase in the risk of cardiac death.

Once Avandia was recalled, however, medical researchers and other medical groups began to pay much closer attention to the association between type-2 diabetes medications and heart failure.

A study known as SAVOR was published in 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was funded by Bristol-Meyers Squibb and AstraZeneca, the manufacturers of Onglyza. The results suggested that 3.5 percent of patients taking Onglyza or its generic form, saxagliptin, were hospitalized due to heart failure.

The FDA has undertaken further studies, including one that was published in the medical journal Circulation. The study found that patients taking saxagliptin had the highest risk of being hospitalized for heart failure during the first year that they took the medication.   Factors such as previous heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and high levels of BNP were also associated with an increased risk of hospitalization.

Medical professionals suggest that patients taking Onglyza should be careful, especially those with prior instances of heart failure. Some doctors advocate that patients taking Onglyza or saxagilptin should be monitored carefully by medical professionals, especially if the patients display any heart failure risk factors.

Plaintiffs who file Onglyza lawsuits may win awards or settlements against the pharmaceutical manufacturers. These potential awards and settlements could help victims pay both past and future medical bills, as well as serve as a small step towards compensating victims for the pain and suffering they have been forced to endure.

Whether or not a lawsuit should be brought is a decision that should be made on a case-by-case basis with the advice of a legal professional.