Recently, an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Wayne A. Ray et al. titled “Azithromycin and the Risk of Cardiovascular Death” reveals the danger of a widely-used antibiotic azithromycin (Zithromax Z-Pak), demonstrating that the use of this drug dramatically increases the risk of cardiovascular death.[1]

This article studied thousands of patients taking a variety of antibiotic medications and compared the relative risk for cardiovascular death among the drugs.[2]  The study also evaluated the risk for cardiovascular death in patients using azithromycin compared to the risk in persons who used no antibiotics.[3]  In all, the number of patients who used azithromycin studied was 347,795, and the number of people studied who used no antibiotics was 1,391,180.[4]  The number of patients who used other antibiotics was 1,348,672 (amoxicillin), 264,626 (ciprofloxacin), and 193,906 (levofloxacin).[5]

Results showed that “During 5 days of therapy, patients taking azithromycin, as compared with those who took no antibiotics, had an increased risk of cardiovascular death”[6] by a factor of 2.88.[7]  That is to say that persons who used Zithromax Z-Pak were nearly three times as likely to suffer cardiovascular death as persons who had not used antibiotics.[8]

Patients who used amoxicillin were no more likely to suffer cardiovascular death than patients who did not use antibiotics, and it was also confirmed by this study that patients who used Zithromax Z-Pak were about 2.5 times as likely to suffer cardiovascular death as were patients who used amoxicillin.[9]

The question we are now forced to answer is “Is the risk for cardiovascular death posed by use of Zithromax Z-Pak worth the antibiotic benefit of the drug?”  The authors of this article quite clearly seem to respond in the negative.

Zithromax Z-Pak was also found to be about as dangerous as levofloxacin use with respect to risk of cardiovascular death, but much more dangerous than use of ciprofloxacin.[10]

Because the manufacturer of Zithromax Z-Pak has failed to adequately warn its users of the risks associated with its product, the FDA has required that the labels of Zithromax Z-Pak be altered, and a number of Zithromax Z-Pak lawsuits are currently being filed.

If you or a loved one used Zithromax Z-Pak and experienced cardiovascular death, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation for the injuries suffered through no fault of your own.  For a free, no-obligation case consultation, do not hesitate to contact our team of Zithromax Z-Pak lawyers.

You may reach our offices by phone at (855) 452-5529 or by e-mail at justinian@dangerousdrugs.us.  Call today and see how we can help.