NEW YORK, March 13 (UPI) -- A recently released study indicates an often prescribed heart medication, Plavix, might cause internal bleeding when taken concurrently with aspirin.
The study involving Plavix, which helps prevent blood clots, is to appear in this week's New England Journal of Medicine and is expected to have a significant impact on the use of the drug, one of the world's most prescribed medications, The New York Times reported Monday.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology endorsed the short-time use of Plavix in 2002 for patients who had been evaluated in an emergency room with a mild heart attack or who were at high risk of having a heart attack.
The drug worked so well, many physicians started prescribing it and the concurrent use of aspirin to patients at risk for heart disease, The Times said.
The trial, involving more than 15,000 patients, indicated among some people Plavix significantly increased the risk of internal bleeding -- a possibly life-threatening condition.
Plavix during 2005 produced more than $6 billion in sales worldwide for its distributors, French drug manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis, and Bristol-Myers Squibb of New York.
