(HealthDay News) -- Although methadone accounts for only 2 percent of the painkiller prescriptions in the United States, it is tied to more than 30 percent of painkiller overdose deaths, according to a government report released Tuesday. "There have been about 4 million prescriptions for methadone each year, and about 5,000 Americans die from methadone overdoses each year," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Methadone is riskier than other opioid painkillers because it builds up in the body and may alter breathing or heart rhythm, the...
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