Vioxx's heart risk lingered long after use ended

"When the pain killer Vioxx was pulled from the market in 2004 over concerns that it increased the risk of heart attack, stroke and death, many assumed that stopping the drug would end the risk. But a new study finds that "the risk was increased close to twofold, and the risk persisted for approximately a year," said co-author Dr. Robert Bresalier, a professor of medicine at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "The good news is that, after a year, the risk seemed to go back down toward normal," he said. The report was published online in the October 14 issue of The Lancet"