U.S., Canadian Agencies Issue Report on Acid Reflux Drug Heart Risks

Federal health officials in the United States and Canada are expressing concern over recent data that two widely prescribed heartburn medications could cause an increased risk of coronary events.

The FDA and Health Canada issued near-simultaneous statements Aug. 9, alerting the public of their ongoing safety review of Prilosec and Nexium after the manufacturer of both drugs released data from two long-term studies that hint at heart-related injuries among those taking the drugs.

According to the statements, AstraZeneca informed regulators in May that preliminary data from the two studies, which compared patients taking either of the two drugs and patients …