Weight loss pill linked to heart attacks, stroke risk

London, January 04 (ANI): Weight loss pill 'Reductil' has been found to increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

European Medicines Agency (EMA) has claimed that the pill apparently contains an ingredient that increases blood pressure.

Also, the Sibutramine Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (SCOUT) surveyed 10,000 patients over six years to reach the conclusion.

Experts suggest the tablets with sibutramine, common among overweight or obese patients, can spark heart problems.

"This is information we need to take very seriously because we should not be prescribing it to the wrong people," the Daily Express quoted Dr David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, as saying.

He added: "Anything that lapses blood pressure control could have side-effects.

"Anyone who has had a heart attack or a stroke should stop taking it but those who haven't should be assured there are no danger signals for them."

Also, an EMA spokesman said: "Because of the seriousness of the findings of the SCOUT study, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use is currently assessing the implications of these findings for the use of sibutramine in normal clinical practice."

However, a spokesman for Abbott Laboratories, which manufacturers Reductil, said: "Our ongoing evaluation of the SCOUT study data does not change our medical assessment of sibutramine's risk/benefit profile when used appropriately in the approved patient population.

"Sibutramine is an important treatment for patients who are obese."

EMA has linked 17 deaths in the UK to 'Reductil' use. (ANI)