The cardiologist for a man who sued Merck & Co. Inc., blaming Vioxx for his 2001 heart attack, testified on Thursday that the withdrawn painkiller and not heart disease was likely responsible, Reuters reported. Dr. David Sim, an Idaho cardiologist who has treated plaintiff Frederick "Mike" Humeston since his heart attack, said he was able to eliminate many of the most common high risk factors for causing a heart attack. "He had a paucity of risk factors for having an event," said Sim at the second Vioxx trial in testimony provided through video deposition. Sim said Humeston was not a smoker, nor a diabetic; that he did not have high blood pressure or abnormally high cholesterol levels; that he was not obese and did not appear to have a family history of heart disease. "It appears that there was very likely something else going on in his case that caused him to have this event," Sim said. Asked if there were any potential medication-related reasons that might have caused the heart attack, Sim said: "The drug that was potentially relevant for Mr. Humeston was Vioxx." --more 2355 Local Time 2055 GMT
