Study Links Lyrica Side Effects to Increased Heart Failure Risks

Heart problems from Lyrica may be linked to the fibromyalgia and nerve pain drug’s side effect on calcium channels.

Data from a new study warns that hospitalizations and emergency room visits for heart failure were more common among people taking the drug Lyrica, raising concerns about potential side effects the widely used anticonvulsant.

According to findings published earlier this month in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, people who took Lyrica had an 85% higher risk of suffering heart failure than other patients with a history of heart disease.

Lyrica is a medication commonly used to treat nerve pain, but is also prescribed to treat fibromyalgia and seizures. It works on the central nervous system and blocks electrical activity in the brain that causes seizures.

Prior studies have indicated that side effects of drugs like Lyrica pose a greater risk of respiratory problems when taken with opioids or other prescription medications. The risk was so great the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required the drugs to carry new warnings about the risk of breathing problems, hospitalizations and death.

Another study published by Swiss researchers concluded that Lyrica side effects may also increase the risk of major birth defects when taken during pregnancy. Infants were three times as likely to have congenital malformations if their mother took Lyrica during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Other known risks of using Lyrica include dizziness, headache, fluid retention, blurred vision and respiratory issues.

In this new study, researchers from Columbia University and Vanderbilt University, led by Dr. Elizabeth E. Park, evaluated data from more than 246,000 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 to 89 years from 2015 to 2018, focusing on patients with non-cancer chronic pain with no history of heart failure or terminal illnesses.

The data indicates 8% were new users of Lyrica and 92% were new users of Neurontin. People who took Lyrica had a higher risk of suffering heart failure compared to those that took Neurontin; 18 per 1,000 person years, compared to Neurontin’s 12.5 per 1,000 person years. There were nearly 1,500 hospital admissions or emergency visits for heart failure among the Lyrica users.

The risk was even greater among patients who already had a history of cardiovascular disease, who faced an 85% increased risk of heart failure on Lyrica. Researchers said there was also a 27% greater risk of heart failure among patients who were treated as outpatients and receiving Lyrica compared to Neurontin.

Despite the higher risk of heart failure, the risk of death was the same among both groups, the researchers determined.

“In this retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 to 89 years with chronic noncancer pain and no history of HF, new users of pregabalin had higher rates of incident HF hospitalizations or ED visits and outpatient visits compared with new users of gabapentin. Practicing clinicians should undertake a careful assessment of ongoing cardiovascular risk factors and perform adequate risk-benefit counseling for older patients before prescribing pregabalin for chronic pain.”

-Dr. Elizabeth E. Park, Initiation of Pregabalin vs Gabapentin and Development of Heart Failure

Park’s team noted Lyrica is more potent than Neurontin and binds to a calcium channel, which may account for the increased heart risks. However, they also noted that the increased risk Lyrica poses should be considered especially in patients with cardiovascular disease.