The News
Bone drug may affect heart
Researchers say the risk of irregular heart rhythms in women is small, and the side affect could be a fluke or the result of aging.
By Jeff Donn The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 05/02/2007 11:16:41 PM MDT
Boston - 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 would be cautious about those who also are at risk for atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that can cause strokes.

The Research
Read the research behind this story in the New England Journal of Medicine.
First article
Second article