Studies link osteo drugs and irregular heartbeats

Interesting news for those of us on bone-builder medication:

Reclast, Fosamax drugs raise red f lags

Two research reports suggest a possible link between two bone-building drugs and irregular heart rhythms in a small number of women who take the medicine.

The signs of a problem were more pronounced with Reclast, a drug made by Novartis AG and given as an annual shot. But there was a hint of similar trouble in a few women who took the leading osteoporosis pill, Fosamax by Merck & Co. The two drugs are in the same class.

The safety question caught researchers by surprise. While uncertain how big a worry it might be, they agreed the overall risk is small. Specialists said women at high risk for bone breaks — the main target of these osteoporosis drugs — should keep taking them as prescribed.

But several experts said they’d be cautious about those who also are at risk for a condition called atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that can cause strokes.

The two separate reports published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine point to elevated rates of serious episodes of that heart condition in women who took Reclast and Fosamax.

“For the first time, there may be a side effect,” said Dr. Steven Cummings of California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, who was involved in both studies. Until now, people have assumed Fosamax “was completely safe and could be given to almost anybody.”

Fosamax, the Merck brand name for alendronate, is now used by an estimated 1.8 million American women.

There appeared to be 50-per-cent more risk of the serious heart rhythm in women who took the daily pill than among those who didn’t take it.