Thousands of locals affected by heart drug issue
Low long-term use cancer risk
Thousands of area residents with heart conditions and high blood pressure have been taking medication that could contain a cancer-causing chemical. Health Canada announced several medications with the ingredient valsartan are being recalled because it contains a “potential human carcinogen.” Millions of Canadians could be affected.
Tim Brady, who runs Brady ’s Drug Store in Belle River and Essex, said this goes far beyond the average recall pharmacists often deal with.
“This is a potential health harm,” said Brady, who spent the last few days contacting patients taking the medication. “So it’s a little bit higher level than we usually deal with, for sure. I don’t recall seeing one of this magnitude since I’ve been practising. It’s pretty widespread. It’s a well-known drug. It’s been around for a long time. It went generic a few years ago. It’s one of the bigger ones.” Drugs containing valsartan are prescribed to people with high blood pressure to prevent heart attacks and stroke. The drugs are also given to patients who have had heart failure or a recent heart attack. Health Canada said several drugs containing valsartan are being recalled because they are contaminated with N-nitrosodimethylamine, a chemical classified as a potential human carcinogen. With long-term exposure, it could cause cancer.
Using statistics from IQVIA, a company that tracks the pharmaceutical industry, the Globe and Mail reported there were about 4.4 million prescriptions for valsartan drugs in Canada last year. More than 2.5 million of those prescriptions were for drugs involved in the recall. Health Canada said the valsartan in question came from a Chinese firm called Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals, which is a supplier to several drug producers.
Health Canada learned there was a problem on June 27 when it was contacted by the maker of a valsartan product. But before going public, the health agency worked with that company and other manufacturers to determine the scope of the issue and the potential risks. “Once Health Canada confirmed the risk and scope of the impacted products, the affected manufacturers were requested to recall products in order to mitigate the risk to health of Canadians,” Health Canada spokesperson Maryse Durette said in an email. Health Canada announced the recall Tuesday. A recall was issued in Europe last week. Health Canada said it has not received “any adverse reaction reports related to cancer” involving medications listed in the advisory.
Wassim Saad, Windsor Regional Hospital’s chief of medicine, said while there is a risk of cancer, it is relatively low. “In some animal studies and some very small human studies it caused gastric cancer, so stomach cancer, and colorectal cancer,” said Saad. “But we’re talking months and sometimes years and oftentimes decades of exposure. So it’s unlikely that anybody is really going to see any harm from this.” Brady said there are likely at least a couple thousand people across Essex County who are on medication with valsartan. Saad agreed that a couple thousand people taking a drug with valsartan in Essex County is probably a “good estimate.”