Imitrex, One of 30 Drugs listed on FDA;s Medwathc under Killer Drugs

[Tariq Faridi]

On the morning of Feb. 4, 1994, Dianne Riley joked nervously with her husband and one of her four children about a dream she'd had the night before in which someone had died.This wasn't a pleasant way to begin the day, because once before Riley had actually forecast a death in this manner.
To make matters worse, Riley had a miserable headache.For five days running, the 41-year-old assistant manager for a Ramada Inn in Kansas City, Mo., had felt the pain in her head build to the point where she would be overpowered by nausea.
Later that morning, Riley had an appointment with Dr. Samuel Ho, a specialist in internal medicine.
...
Ho recommended Riley try Imitrex, the brand name for sumatriptan succinate, a heavily marketed new drug for migraines.At 12:25 p.m., Riley was given a six-milligram injection of the drug.Within minutes, she began to sweat, vomit, and experience chest pains.
Technicians managed to hook her up to an electrocardiograph and quickly discovered that she had an abnormal heart rhythm.They called 911.
An emergency team reached Ho's clinic at 12:56 p.m., and transported Riley to St. Luke's Northland Hospital where she arrived with resuscitation efforts in progress.At 1:58 p.m., a doctor pronounced Riley dead.An autopsy performed the
next day indicates Riley's cause of death was "a result of adverse effect of Imitrex."
On April 15, two months after Dianne Riley's death, her family filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Mo., charging that Glaxo, the British-based manufacturer of Imitrex, had been aware that the drug could cause serious harm or even death.
...
Although Dianne Riley had some risk factors for heart disease (e.g., smoking, family history of heart disease), Di Maio says her heart and coronary arteries were healthy; the heart attack that killed her was precipitated by Imitrex.
"It is a very complete autopsy," Di Maio says."This is a simple case where a young woman took Imitrex, started to react to it badly, developed an irregular heartbeat, and died.The autopsy shows clearly that there was no evidence of hardening of her arteries, no evidence of infection, no evidence of an enlarged heart, no evidence of stroke, no evidence of meningitis or encephalitis, no evidence of a blood clot, no evidence of lung disease, no evidence of asthma or allergic reaction, no evidence whatsoever of disease.If there is no other cause of death, by deductive reasoning she died of a coronary vasospasm following the use of Imitrex."
Imitrex, a top-line Glaxo drug, is used by more than two million people worldwide.
...
The death of Dianne Riley is noted, though not by name, among them.(The notation, however, does not mention that Riley's autopsy showed her to be free of heart disease.Instead, it lists her risk factors for heart disease--"positive family history, postmenopausal woman, and smoking"--implying that she might have had heart disease.) The FDA also asked Glaxo to send out what is known as a "Dear Doctor" letter, to inform physicians of the labeling change.
Three months later, there was a second major relabeling and another Dear Doctor letter.Glaxo now emphasized that Imitrex should only be used when a doctor had clearly established that a patient was suffering from migraine.The drug was not intended for any other kind of headache.The new labeling also recommended that Imitrex "not be given to patients in whom unrecognized coronary artery disease is likely without a prior evaluation for underlying cardiovascular disease."These patients include postmenopausal women, males over 40, and those with risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, smoking, or strong family history of heart disease.
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[Scared by Big Pharma]

It is NEVER the drug's fault. Didn't we learn anything from VIOXX? Next will be Fosamax (and others), Liptitor (and the cousins) etc.
We need to say NO to being guniea pigs for these big pharmas etc.
We need to research on our own these drugs...check out askapatient.com and medications.com
so many people have had bad experiences with these meds...who is having good ones? Or is it just how long before they have something go wrong?

[Sabrina- CA]

scary. i use this. pills and shots. and the shots are very strong on my body.