Study Shows Zithromax Increases Heart Attack Risk

The Zithromax study was conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University and published in May 2012 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study showed a 250 percent higher chance of dying from a cardiovascular event within the first five days of taking Zithromax compared with those who took amoxicillin.

The study was conducted by Wayne A. Ray. Ph.D., a professor of Preventive Medicine, and C. Michael Stein, M.B., Ch.B., the Dan May Chair in Medicine and professor of Pharmacology — both at Vanderbilt University. They concluded that although the risk is rare, it is still significant.

Zithromax and other versions of the drug such as Z-Pak, Zmax, and azithromycin (the generic name) are popular antibiotics prescribed for treating bacterial sinus infections and bronchitis due to the fact that patients only have to take the drug for 5 days as opposed 10 to 15 days for traditional antibiotics such as amoxicillin.

It was thought for a long time that Zithromax carried little, if any, cardiac risk, but the researchers started to notice that literature from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration showed a link between Zithromax and heart arrhythmia. After noticing this link, the researchers started looking at Zithromax patients who had died from a cardiac related problem.

Arrhythmias are heart diseases where there is an abnormal heart beat. The heart can either beat too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia), or irregularly. Arrhythmias can result in a stroke or heart failure.

They looked at Tennessee Medicaid patient records from 1992 to 2006 and compared around 348,000 prescriptions of Zithromax compared with millions of prescriptions from other commonly prescribed antibiotics – primarily amoxicillin, which is prescribed for similar reasons as Zithromax.

Even though the number of deaths was very low, they found 47 more deaths per million among the group who were taking Zithromax. If the patient already had heart problems, the risk for cardiovascular death increased to 245 additional deaths per million.

The conclusion was that doctors need to take into account the risks of the patient before choosing which antibiotic to prescribe.

“We believe this study adds important information on the risk profile for azithromycin,” Ray said. “For patients with elevated cardiovascular risk and infections for which there are alternative antibiotics, the cardiovascular effects of azithromycin may be an important clinical consideration.”

If you or someone you know has suffered from a heart attack or stroke after taking Zithromax, legal options are available to you. Learn more and get a free legal consultation regarding a claim’s eligibility at the Zithromax Z-Pak Azithromycin Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation. Experienced legal professionals have access to medical experts to assess whether or not this antibiotic played a role in your heart attack or stroke, so act now.