Pondimin - Treatments of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)

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Pondimin is a popular anti-obesity medication manufactured by the American Home Products Corporation. Generically known as fenfluramine, Pondimin was introduced to the US market in 1973. It has been estimated that as many as 6 million people in the United States alone has taken this medication at some point in their lives. Pondimin reduces the serotonin levels in the brain, effectively regulating the mood and appetite of the individuals that consume it.

In 1997, a Pondimin recall was issued by the US Food and Drug Administration after finding that the medication was responsible for many cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension, heart valve disease, and cardiac fibrosis. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a life-threatening condition characterized by chronic high blood pressure. The high blood pressure is caused by the narrowing of the arteries in the lungs due to hardening and stiffness. This affects the heart’s ability to pump blood to the lungs to infuse the blood with oxygen. The heart works harder to pump the blood to the lungs, overworking the heart and eventually causing heart failure.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is considered a rare disorder with a high mortality rate. The high mortality rate is mainly due to the fact that a patient may not develop any symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension until as many as ten years after the onset of the condition. Many cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension are not diagnosed until the condition has reached a critical stage and the individual has developed a serious complication associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension. When symptoms do appear, they are generally mild and are not considered serious enough to make an appointment with a doctor to have them checked out. There is no cure for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Clinical studies have shown that an individual’s risk of developing pulmonary arterial hypertension increases by more than 30% if the individual has ever taken Pondimin for at least three months. The US Food and Drug Administration decided that the risks associated with the use of Pondimin greatly outweighed the benefits of taking the medication and requested that the sale and marketing of the medication be stopped indefinitely. Thousands of individuals have been affected by the association between pulmonary arterial hypertension and Pondimin usage with new cases being diagnosed every year. New cases of Pondimin related pulmonary arterial hypertension may continue to arise for years to come due to the long length of time between the onset of the condition and the appearance of symptoms.

Experts believe that there are close to 100,000 people living with pulmonary arterial hypertension in the United States alone. Of this number, only about 20,000 people have been diagnosed with the rest unaware that they have the condition. Many individuals affected by Pondimin usage have experienced severe complications, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, heart disease, lung disorders, and heart failure. Lawsuits relating to the link between pulmonary arterial hypertension and Pondimin have numbered in the thousands, costing the manufacturer of the medication billions of dollars.

Treatments for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

• Anticoagulants
• Calcium Channel Blockers
• Beraprost (prostacyclin)
• Diuretics
• Flolan (epoprostenol sodium)
• Iloprost (Ventavis)
• Lasix
• Revatio (Viagra, sildenafil citrate)
• Tracleer (Bosentan)
• Remodulin (UT-15, treprostinil sodium)
  

Do I have a Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Lawsuit?

The Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH) lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension cases in all 50 states.

Attention Attorneys: We do not publish prior verdict/settlements. If you are an attorney and would like to refer us a case or for us to send you a profile of prior award judgments or average referral fees, please visit the attorney referral section of our website.

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