In early 2009, an advisory committee to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a ban on the popular pain medication, Darvocet (propoxyphene combined with acetaminophen) that has been used to treat pain for more than 50 years. According to government health and safety experts, Darvocet has been linked to addiction and other serious, life-threatening side effects.
The Health Research Group recently petitioned the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to ban Darvon (generic: propoxyphene) and Darvocet (generic: propoxyphene + acetaminophen ) due to the confirmed link between propoxyphene and over 10,000 confirmed deaths and 2,110 reported accidental deaths since the early 1980’s.
Propoxyphene has been associated with 2,110 reported accidental deaths in the United States since 1981. A large proportion of these deaths occur because most of the drug is converted into a metabolite that is highly toxic to the heart and lasts longer in the body than the original compound, resulting in cardiac depression. Adverse cardiac events associated with propoxyphene include an interruption of heart transmission of electrical impulses, slowed heartbeats and a decreased ability of the heart to contract properly.
On November 20, 2010, the FDA finally issued a recall for Darvocet.
If you suffered a heart attack, abnormal heart rhythm, heart arrythmias, tachycardia or supraventricular tachycardia, you should speak with an experienced member of our Mass Torts team at Loncar & Associates. We may be able to help.
