Reductil should not be used by anybody with heart problems

You may have heard about the Food & Drug Administration in America reviewing data for the weight loss medication Reductil.  This is not something to be overly concerned about if you are thinking about using Reductil or you have already used it because the FDA is always reviewing existing medications. In fact the other weight loss medication sold in the United Kingdom, namely Xenical is also under review by the FDA.

In the Reductil case the FDA is specifically looking at a possible link to an increased number of adverse cardiac events which occurred during a clinical trial called the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Morbidity/Mortality Outcomes in Overweight or Obese Subjects at Risk for CVD. This clinical trial involved the comparison of data for Reductil assisted weight loss with non Reductil assisted weight loss in around 10,000 overweight or obese people who had a medical history of heart disease and type II diabetes.

The results showed that heart problems occurred in 11.4% of those patients given Reductil compared to only 10% in those patients given a placebo medication. This 1.4% difference could be explained away by the imprecise nature of clinical trials but the FDA which prides itself on being one of the most stringent and strict health regulatory agencies in the world has decided to investigate further to be on the safe side.

In fact Reductil should not be used by anybody with heart problems and that is why it remains a prescription drug which you should only take after a consultation with a doctor. The FDA said that this study highlighted the importance of avoiding Reductil if you had a medical history of “coronary artery disease, congestive HF, arrhythmias or stroke”.

You should also be aware however that one of the biggest causes of heart disease is being overweight or obese in itself and therefore provided that you have a healthy heart, and low blood pressure using Reductil to lose weight could in fact prevent you from heart problems in the future.