A doctor told jurors yesterday in the nation's first Vioxx lawsuit that the drug contributed to the death of a Texas man, aged 59, who had an arrhythmia linked to a heart attack in 2001.

"His taking of Vioxx caused and/or contributed to his heart attack," Dr. David Egilman, a public health professor at Brown University, said in a direct challenge to Vioxx maker Merck & Co.'s assertion that it has no relation to irregular heartbeats.

Carol Ernst, the widow of Robert Ernst, is the plaintiff in the first of more than 4,200 state and federal vioxx lawsuits across the country to go before a jury.

Merck & Co. reported a drop in second-quarter profit, hurt by a tax charge and the withdrawal last year of its Vioxx arthritis drug.

Total sales fell 9 percent to $5.5 billion, primarily due to the loss of Vioxx revenue, which at one time generated some $2.5 billion in annual revenue.