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Permax and Heart Valve Disease
About Heart Valve Disease
The valves of the heart are made up of several very strong
flaps of tissue called leaflets. Leaflets open and close as
the heart contracts and relaxes, keeping blood flowing in
the right direction in the heart. Heart valve disease prevents
the valves from opening or closing properly, thus interfering
with the flow of blood or causing blood to flow the wrong
way.
The two main types of heart valve disease are:
- Stenosis (obstruction) --
a valve opening becomes narrowed, making it hard to pump
blood to the body.
- Regurgitation (insufficiency)
-- a valve fails to close completely, causing the blood
to leak backward rather than flowing forward.
Symptoms of heart valve disease include swelling of the feet
and ankles, shortness of breath, chest pain, unusual tiring,
dizziness or fainting. Left unchecked and untreated, some
types of valvular heart disease can progress to the point
where the patient is at risk of death from heart failure.
Heart Valve Disease and Permax
According to a report by doctors at the Mayo Clinic, Permax
(pergolide) may be connected to heart valve disease. In three
cases at the Mayo Clinic, three older women who were taking
Permax daily for three to seven years were diagnosed with
serious heart valve diseases. Two of these women had to have
valve replacement surgery.
None of the three had a prior history of heart disease. Two
were being treated with Permax for Parkinson's disease and
the third was being treated for sleep apnea and restless legs
syndrome.
One doctor at the Mayo clinic said that the heart valve damage
was quite exceptional, and could only be explained by a very
limited number of conditions (none of which the women had).
Pergolide (Permax) shares characteristics with other drugs
that have been associated with heart valve disease, including
the "fen-phen" weight loss drugs, which were removed
from the market after they were linked to heart valve disease.
Permax and Heart Valve Disease
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