Avandia and Heart Disease

Two studies suggest diabetes drug Avandia increases risk of heart problems.
ABC World News (6/28, story 7, 2:20, Sawyer) reported, "Two major studies have found the medicine called Avandia [rosiglitazone] could create a significant new risk of heart attack and other serious problems."
The CBS Evening News (6/28, story 10, 0:30, Smith) reported, "FDA experts meet in two weeks to decide whether or not to pull Avandia off the market."
NBC Nightly News (6/28, story 8, 0:20, Williams) reported, however, that the drug's maker, GlaxoSmithKline, "said today the drug is effective and safe."
The Washington Post (6/29, Stein) reports that one study, "involving more than 35,500 people, found that Avandia significantly raises the chances of a heart attack." A separate study "of more than 227,500 Medicare patients -- the largest such study to date -- found that the drug boosts the risk for strokes, heart failure, and death."
The Los Angeles Times (6/29, Roan) reports that the first study "found Avandia raised the risk of heart attacks by 28% to 39% as compared with other diabetes medications. The study was published online in the Archives of Internal Medicine."
Bloomberg News (6/29, Cortez) quotes Steven Nissen, MD, lead author of the study, as saying, "I think we've got more than enough evidence to say this drug should not be used."
USA Today (6/29, Marcus) reports that in the second study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, "scientists from the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration evaluated data from 227,571 Medicare beneficiaries taking either Avandia or Actos [pioglitazone hydrochloride]." The investigators found "no differences in the risk for heart attack between the two drugs, but the study found that compared with Actos, Avandia was associated with a 25% increased risk of heart failure, a 27% increased risk of stroke and a 14% increased risk of death."
The Boston Globe (6/29, Rowland) quotes the study's coauthor Dr. David Graham, the FDA's associate director for science and medicine, as saying, "Look at our study, and then ask yourself, 'Why would you want to take Avandia?'"