The Wide Angle Volume 2, Issue 5 August/September 1997

NEW FEN-PHEN ALERT

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic have alerted the medical community to possible dangers associated with the use of the popular diet drug fen-phen in a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The report cited recent cases that demonstrate a potential link between an unusual heart valve disease and the use of the weight loss medication.

The report cited the cases of approximately two dozen women who were diagnosed with symptoms of cardiovascular disease or heart murmur during routine medical visits with their personal physicians. Follow-up testing showed that one or more heart valves in each patient showed evidence of damage that made the heart work harder and could result in long-term medical problems. Some of the women were also diagnosed with new cases of primary pulmonary hypertension, an often-fatal disorder of the heart and lungs.

The researchers were unsure how fen-phen might cause heart valve injury although one theory is that an increase in blood levels of the brain chemical serotonin may cause valve damage. Fen-phen works by raising serum levels of serotonin.

All of the patients in the report were otherwise healthy young women with no prior history of cardiovascular disease, heart valve problems or pph. On average, each woman had been taking the medication for about one year.

According to Dr. Heidi Connolly, Mayo Clinic cardiologist and the primary author of the paper, "We recommend that patients who are currently taking or considering taking fen-phen therapy discuss these findings with their physicians who can help them weight the benefits and risks of weight reduction therapy. We believe that these cases raise significant concern that this combination of appetite suppressants can have important implications regarding valvular heart disease."

The Mayo Clinic is planning a more comprehensive study to address these concerns.

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