Description: The widely prescribed type 2 diabetes drug Avandia should remain on the market, despite studies that suggest it could increase the risk of heart attacks, U.S. health advisers said Monday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 22-1 to keep the drug on the market, although it recommended Avandia should carry new safety warnings. That vote was preceded by another vote, 20-3, in which panel members agreed that available data does show Avandia increases heart risks.

"The committee felt, almost uniformly, that there is a risk to some patients," said Dr. Clifford Rosen, the acting committee chairman from the Maine Center for Osteoporosis, St. Joseph Hospital, in Bangor.

"There was some increased risk of cardiac events to some patients. The signal for increased risk was there, with some qualifications," he told reporters at a teleconference.

Patients at risk include those with congestive heart failure, heart disease or patien