Weight Loss Drug Called Risky for People With Hypertension or Heart Disease

By Daniel J. DeNoon

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MDJan. 21, 2010 – The weight loss drug Meridia is too dangerous for people with high blood pressure or heart problems, the FDA today warned.

European authorities today went one step further and banned the drug, known generically as sibutramine and sold in Europe as Reductil.

“Evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes with this medicine that outweighs the benefits of weight loss, which is modest and may not be sustained in the long term after stopping treatment,” the U.K.’s Medical Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says in a news release.

The FDA based its warning on new data showing a higher-than-expected risk of heart attack and stroke. The FDA says Meridia should NOT be taken by people with: (more…)