Zithromax Listed in Top 5 Surprising Causes of Heart Attacks

Zithromax (azithromycin) has come under fire recently as more people are reporting the negative heart side effects of Zithromax to the U.S. Drug and Food Administration and more studies have come out showing an increased risk of heart attack for those taking Zithromax over other antibiotics.
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 FDA 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.

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

A Zithromax study released last May found that the risk of having a heart attack increased 2.5 times in patients that took the antibiotic Zithromax over those who took another antibiotic or took no antibiotic at all.

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.

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 researchers concluded that doctors need to take into account the risks of the patient before choosing which antibiotic to prescribe.

Besides Zithromax, Stevens lists the follow top causes for heart attack: anger, fear and depression; wireless devices; nitrate medications used in combination with Viagra, Levitra and Cialis; and the rare condition spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD).

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.