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medpundit |
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Tuesday, November 30, 2004When Frayde Leventhal, 83, fell last year, her doctor sent her in for a brain scan. 'I thought I was getting Alzheimer's,' said the resident of Palm Springs, Fla. But the brain scan showed she'd suffered a minor stroke. Her doctor called and told her to stop taking Vioxx. She says she hasn't been the same since her stroke: 'I sure don't play golf anymore.' Merck will soon be getting a call from her son, Jim Leventhal, 56, one of Colorado's top malpractice attorneys. But was it the Vioxx? His mom was 83. The risk of stroke goes up dramatically with age. In one study in Japan, the rate of strokes found on autopsy in people over 60 was as high as 32%. And in another population based study from Japan, researchers found the rate of asymptomatic strokes to be as high as 19% in those over 80. Chances are pretty good that it was Mrs. Leventhal's age that caused her stroke, and not her Vioxx. But then, you can't sue mother nature. posted by Sydney on 11/30/2004 07:21:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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