Doctors Warned About Vytorin

"At the time, we said the FDA's own pharmacology reviewer recommended against approval of Vytorin, warning that tests showed serious toxicity in laboratory animals, regardless of how small of an amount of this combination drug was used."

After that initial report came out in January 2008, ConsumerAffairs.com heard from a number of concerned patients who were taking Vytorin.

"My doctor asked me to take a drug called Vytorin to help me lower mycholesterol level," said Louise, of West Columbia, South Carolina. "I took Vytorin three or more months when I started to feel pain in my muscels and a weak feeling that came on slowly. I went back to my doctor, and she sent me for tests. About two weeks went by, and I got worse. I went into the hospital, and they said it was Vytorin that was killing me; they kept me for two weeks."

The new ENHANCE study suggests that Vytorin may not stop damage to the arteries and shouldn't therefore should not be widely prescribed until a larger study proves whether the pill reduces the risk of heart attacks and deaths.

In a weekend editorial, the New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial, saying Vytorin, should only be taken as a last resort.

The two pharmaceutical companies appeared to shrug off the concerns, saying they will continue to promote Vytorin as a primary treatment for high cholesterol. According to The New York Times, about four million Americans take the drug.