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Dialysis Heart Attack Lawsuit

GranuFlo and Naturalyte are dialysis treatment products that have been linked to hundreds of cases of heart attacks during or after dialysis treatment. In June 2012, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Class 1 recall of Granuflo and Naturalyte. Many people who have been injured are now pursuing a lawsuit against Fresenius.

What You Can Do & How a Dialysis Heart Attack Lawsuit Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting Naturalyte and GranuFlo induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by a dialysis heart attack, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call us toll-free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

GranuFlo and Dialysis Heart Attacks

GranuFlo and Naturalyte are two dialysis products that have been linked to heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest, stroke, and death. The FDA has recently issued an urgent Class 1 recall because they can cause serious injury to dialysis patients.

Dialysis patients are more likely to develop heart problems and blood clots than the general population. Unfortunately, certain dialysis patients may have an even higher risk of heart attack — those who are treated with GranuFlo and Naturalyte, two dialysis products manufactured by Fresenius Medical Care.

Doctors administering dialysis usually use certain chemicals to balance the acidity and alkalinity of blood before returning it to the patient’s body. Most products contain primarily acetic acid, but GranuFlo and Naturalyte contain acetic acid plus another chemical that converts to bicarbonate inside the patient’s body.

When a patient is given GranuFlo or Naturalyte, their bicarbonate levels become higher than what was initially prescribed. If the physician is not very careful with the dosage, the patient can easily develop life-threatening bicarbonate overdose.

High bicarbonate levels can cause a life-threatening condition called metabolic alkalosis. This is associated with low blood pressure, severe irregular heart rhythm, cardiopulmonary arrest, cardiac arrest, heart attack, and death.

941 Cardiopulmonary Arrests at Fresenius Clinics

If you or your loved one suffered a heart attack at a Fresenius dialysis clinic, you are not alone. November 4, 2011, Fresenius sent an internal memo to doctors employed at the company’s dialysis clinics. The memo warned that failure to administer GranuFlo or Naturalyte properly could increase the risk of patient death from sudden cardiac arrest.

The memo found that 941 patients had suffered a heart attack at a Fresenius clinics in 2010. The company’s medical staff concluded that patients with high bicarbonate levels before dialysis were six times more likely to have a heart attack compared to patients with lower bicarbonate levels.

Fresenius did not immediately notify the FDA or other dialysis clinics about the risk until March 2012, when the FDA received a copy of the memo from an anonymous source and questioned the company.

Dialysis and Sudden Cardiac Arrest

The heart is an electrical pump, and electricity is generated inside the upper chambers of the heart. This electrical current is carried through the heart muscle in a way that causes the muscle to contract, producing a heart beat, which pumps blood through the body.

Sudden cardiac arrest can occur when a chemical imbalance in the blood (such as high bicarbonate or metabolic alkalosis) interfere with the electrical current in the heart, causing the heart to fail. Without an electrical signal, the bottom chambers of the heart “flutter” instead of pumping, and the heart does not supply blood to the body. Some people who suffer from dialysis heart attacks suffer from a racing heartbeat or dizziness. However, most cases of sudden cardiac arrest are symptomless until the event occurs.

Symptoms of a Heart Attack

  • chest pain, squeezing, or fullneess
  • shortness of breath
  • nausea, vomiting
  • upper abdominal discomfort
  • sweating
  • heartburn or indigestion
  • arm pain
  • upper back pain
  • feeling ill or anxious

Do I have a Dialysis Heart Attack Lawsuit?

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting GranuFlo and Naturalyte induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by a dialysis heart attack, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Defective Drug Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

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