Woman sues Vioxx maker for heart condition after using arthritis drug

• A South Texas woman has sued drug maker Merck & Co., alleging that she had to have heart surgery after using the arthritis drug Vioxx.
• Olga Sanchez of Pharr filed her lawsuit in state district court in Edinburg on Tuesday.
• New Jersey-based Merck withdrew the popular medication from use last week after a study showed that users could face a heightened risk of heart attack and stroke.
• Sanchez, 67, said in her lawsuit that she had used Vioxx for less than a year.
• Merck has said the recent study showed complications arising 18 months after a patient starts taking Vioxx.
• Her lawyer, Ricardo Garcia, said that Merck knew from a previous study that Vioxx created an increased risk of heart attack and other complications.
• "(Merck) aggressively marketed this drug directly to consumers knowing it carried significant health risks," Garcia said.
• "In doing so, Merck actively deceived consumers, which is a violation of Texas law."
• A Merck spokesman didn't immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday.
• In 2002 Vioxx was labeled with a warning about heart risks after a study by Merck in 2000 uncovered the heart risks.
• The federal Food and Drug Administration has been monitoring problems reported about the drug since then.
• Among other things, the lawsuit accuses Merck of negligence for failure to warn consumers about potential risks or to adequately test the drug, knowingly distributing a defective product and violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
• Two Rio Grande Valley doctors are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.