GranuFlo and NaturaLyte Can Cause Heart Attacks and Death
by
Kasie Braswell on Sep. 20, 2013
Accident & Injury Products Liability Accident & Injury Wrongful Death Accident & Injury Medical Malpractice
Summary: GranuFlo and NaturaLyte lead to heart attacks and death. Company knew about problem for over a year without telling patients.
GranuFlo
and NaturaLyte Can Cause Heart Attacks and Death
Alabama resident
Johnny Williams went in for his usual round of dialysis treatment in July last
year – the next day he was dead. Mr.
Williams was given the drug GranuFlo during his dialysis treatment and his
widow claims that the drug killed him.
To understand why she believes that, you must first understand how
GranuFlo (and NaturaLyte) work in the body. GranuFlo (powder) and NaturaLyte
(liquid) create bicarbonate (a major ingredient in the dialysis process). Other
dialysis drugs do the same thing – so, why are these two drugs different? GranuFlo and NaturaLyte use sodium diacetate
instead of the sodium monoacetate
that other drugs use. Thus, when this
“special” composition is used, it can lead to higher levels of
bicarbonate. When the bicarbonate levels
increase in the bloodstream it increases the ph level the blood. This increased ph level (when it hits the
kidneys) can lead to heart arrhythmia, heart attack, coma and even death.
So, why use
GranuFlo and NaturaLyte if they are more dangerous? Money.
Pharmaceutical companies are in a never-ending race with each other to
come up with the next “big thing” in the drug world. It often means billions of dollars in profit. So, the drug companies pressure the FDA for
approval and then they send out the drug reps to push the drugs onto
unsuspecting doctors and nurses. That’s
exactly what Fresenius Medical Care (the world’s largest provider of kidney
dialysis drugs) did. Despite the fact
that in 2011 they knew (according to an internal company memo) that over 900
patients in their own clinics had suffered heart attacks in 2011 after
using the drug – they NEVER advised the FDA or any physicians of the increased
risk of heart problems when using their new (and very profitable) drugs. Finally, the FDA found out on their own
(after numerous deaths) and recalled the drugs in March of 2012 –
unfortunately, it was too late for Johnny Williams and hundreds more just like
him. GranuFlo and NaturaLyte have been
linked to low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, heart attacks, coma and
death.
If you or a
loved one has suffered from complications after taking GranuFlo or NaturaLyte
please contact Kasie Braswell or Brian Murphy to discuss your options. Your time to file a claim may be limited so
we urge you to call today. Kasie and
Brian can be reached at their office 800-554-9260; (Kasie’s cell phone) 251-942-9486;
or (Brian’s cell phone) 251-689-7972 –
we welcome calls after business hours or on the weekend.
