Avandia Study Worries Diabetics

Shannon Weidemann

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Avandia is a popular diabetes drug used to control the disease. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine has many that are taking the drug worried. The study found an increased risk of heart attack and death for those on the medication.

The suggestion of a greater heart risk is especially troubling, though, because two-thirds of diabetics die of heart problems. More than 6 million people worldwide have taken Avandia since it came on the market in 1999 to treat Type 2, the most common form of diabetes and the one linked with obesity.

The Gonda Diabetes Center at the University of California, Los Angeles has answered at least 10 calls and individual doctors have received scores of e-mails from patients.

It is highly recommended that you speak with your doctor before you stop taking Avandia. The FDA has not announced a product recall pending further studies.