FDA says Zithromax can cause fatal irregular heart rhythm

Reuters/Reuters - A woman walks past the Pfizer Inc. headquarters in New York, January 31, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on Tuesday that the popular antibiotic azithromycin, sold as Zithromax, can cause a potentially fatal irregular heart rhythm in some patients.

The agency said the move follows its review of a study by medical researchers as well as a company study assessing the drug's potential for causing abnormal changes in the electrical activity of the heart.

Last May, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine compared the risk of cardiovascular death in patients who took Zithromax with those who took several other antibiotics, including amoxicillin. It found that patients who took Zithromax, made by Pfizer Inc, had higher rates of fatal heart rhythms.

World’s mecca for sex drugs? Saudi Arabia

Nearly 12 percent of Saudi Arabia's 20 million men are believed to be suffering from impotence. Great news for Viagra.

Iva Roze Skoch 

Saudi Arabia must be Pfizer’s favorite country in the world.

According to Al Riyadh, an Arabic language daily, Saudi Arabia ranks as the world’s sixth largest consumer of sex enhancing drugs.

Considering that Saudi Arabia only has about 27 million people and is one of the most sparsely populated countries on the planet, that’s quite an achievement.

Saudis spend over $1.5 billion a year on Viagra and other anti-impotence drugs, or about ten times more than Russia. Meanwhile, Russia’s population is about ten times that of Saudi Arabia.

Arab countries generally rank very high in sex drugs consumption.

Collectively, they spend more than $10 billion on Viagra and other anti-impotence medicines every year.

Saudi Arabia’s sex drugs consumption is highest, followed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which spend about $1 billion and $500 million respectively.

Besides psychological factors, diabetes is said to be the main cause of impotence in Saudi Arabia.

Nearly 15 percent of the Saudis suffer from diabetes, against only 3-5 percent in other countries,http://bikyamasr.com/60478/arab-countries-spend-10-billion-on-sex-drugs-... ">reports bikyamesr.com.

Other factors include: high rate of high blood pressure cases, obesity and lack of exercise.

gotquestions  http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/wanderlust/sex-drugs-saudi-arabia