New York Times, "Cardiologist Testifies Vioxx Contributed to Man's Death"

          The painkiller Vioxx probably led to the death of Robert Ernst, a cardiologist told jurors on Monday in the first Vioxx lawsuit to reach trial.
          "I think to a reasonable medical probability Vioxx was a significant contributing factor in causing this event," said Dr. Isaac Wiener, an expert witness called by the plaintiffs in the case.
          His view could be supported by Dr. Maria M. Araneta, the coroner who conducted Mr. Ernst's autopsy, whom the plaintiffs said they planned to call to testify on Tuesday. Mr. Ernst, a 59-year-old marathoner, died in his bed on May 6, 2001, after taking Vioxx for eight months. His widow and children have sued Merck, contending that Vioxx caused his death.
          Clinical trials have repeatedly linked Vioxx to heart attacks, but Merck says that clinical trials have never shown a link between Vioxx and arrhythmia, undoing any link between Vioxx and Mr. Ernst's death.
          But in an interview in Houston on Sunday, Dr. Araneta said she thought that Mr. Ernst could have suffered a heart attack that killed him so quickly that it did not produce visible heart damage during her autopsy.