NEW YORK — The weight loss drug Meridia is being pulled off the market in Canada, the nation's health department said today, because of links to side effects like heart attacks and strokes.

Abbott Laboratories is voluntarily withdrawing the drug, Health Canada said.

European regulators withdrew the drug in January, and the Food and Drug Administration might do the same in the United States. That decision could come as early as today.

Data released in November showed cardiovascular risks for patients with heart disease was 11 percent greater, compared with 10 percent of those taking a placebo.

The decision in Canada was based on that data, officials said. Health Canada had already issued several warnings about the drug over the years.

Health Canada says it will also address any issues with generic versions of the drug.

Meridia, or sibutramine, was approved in Canada in December 2000. It has been on the market in the U.S. since 1997.