More Reason for Caution with Diet Pills.

The reports about the association between fenfluramine and phentermine and cardiopulmonary abnormalities are not limited to patients with long-term use of the medications. Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital reported a case of a woman who developed fatal pulmonary hypertension after taking the combination of fenfluramine and phentermine for only 23 days.

The 29-year-old woman received the combination of fenfluramine at 10 mg three times per day and phentermine at 15 mg per day for treatment of obesity. She discontinued the medications after 23 days and a 10-lb weight loss. Approximately five months later, she developed shortness of breath and had two episodes of syncope. Cardiac catheterization revealed a right ventricular pres…