Fen-Phen Lawyers
ROCHESTER, Minnesota (CNN) -- Fen-Phen, a powerful diet drug taken by 18 million Americans each year, can cause heart disease in otherwise healthy patients, Mayo Clinic researchers said Tuesday.
"Our conclusion is simple," Dr. Heidi Connolly of the Mayo Clinic said at a news conference Tuesday. "We are concerned that the Fen-Phen combination may have important implications regarding heart valve disease."
The preliminary finding, which was unexpected, will be published in the August 28 edition of New England Journal of Medicine. In an unusual move, the editors of the journal decided to release the information early given the impact on public health.
At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration began sending letters to thousands of doctors asking them to immediately check fen-phen patients for valve problems and report them to the agency.
The urgency with which the journal and the government treated the information was unusual and reserved for only the most serious public health matters.
Connolly, the chief author of the report, stressed that the findings were preliminary and that "more information is needed." But she urged users of the drug to take precautions.
"It's really important that patients discuss these findings with their physicians and weigh risks and benefits," she said.
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