Bayer Heart Drug Breaking News on Trasylol Trasylol increases the risk of death Trasylol - Deadly Side Effects Trasylol Medical Study Was Trasylol used Earlier recall could have saved lives

It is important that all Americans who are now suffering from Kindey Failure or suffered the loss of a family member,who had previously underwent Heart Surgery to read the following and to contact our Law Offices for more information if you believe Trayslol  was used during the procedure.

Recently the CBS News Program "60 Minutes" detailed and explained how the Bayer Corporation's Decision to the delay in taking the drug Trasylol  off the market after the publication of Dr. Dennis Mangano's Study showed elevated risks of kidney damage (including dialysis), heart attack and strokes - may have cost 22,000 individuals their lives.

Dr. Mangano now estimates that as many as 1,000 inviduals per month died as a result of the continued use of Trayslol during Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery, despite the publication of his article in January, 2006 until the drug's withdrawal in November of 2007.  That comes to 22,000 individuals that died, not counting the indivuals that are now suffering from kidney damage or kidney failure.

On February 21, 2008 two additional studies were released and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Both studies confirm that Trasylol causes an increased risk of death and kidney damage compared to alternative medicines or no medicine at all. Trasylol is an antifibrinolytic agent used during cardiac surgery to reduce the risk of blood transfusions. However, for patients that require the use of such a medication, two alternatives exists - aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid - both of which are substantially less expensive than Trasylol. According to the two most recent articles and Dr. Mangano's study, aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid are equally effective in reducing the risk of needing blood transfusions due to blood loss and present none of the health risks associated with Trasylol.

In the article written by Dr. Andrew Shaw,he concluded that "survival was worse among patients treated with [Trasylol], with a main-effects hazard ratio for death of 1.32 (95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.55) for the comparison with patients receiving no antibrinolytic therapy (P=0.003) and 1.27 (95% CI, 1.10 to 1.46) for the comparison with patients receiving aminocarpoic acid (P=0.004).  In addition to the Shaw article, an article by Dr. Schneeweiss, et al., is also being published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Schneeweiss Article, was actually funded by the Bayer Corporation.  The findings in this report were withheld from the FDA until after a pivotal Advisory Committee meeting on Trasylol. This study concludes that the risk of death is 64% higher with Trasylol compared to aminocaproic acid (relative risk, 1.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.50 to 1.78).

If you or a family member have suffered as a result of this drug or if you are uncertain if this drug was used during a heart surgery, contact our Law Firm.  We can help you obtain the medical records and help determine if Trasylol was used during the procedure.  Call us day or night at 1-800-862-1260.