New Orleans ? A federal jury ruled in favor of Merck & Co. Inc. on Tuesday in a lawsuit over the painkiller Vioxx, finding there was not enough evidence to link the drug to a Kentucky man’s heart attack.

Robert Garry Smith, 56, claimed in U.S. District Court that the drug contributed to a heart attack he had 3 1/2 years ago. He said he had taken Vioxx for knee pain for about 4 1/2 months but didn’t realize at the time of the heart attack that Vioxx may have been a cause for concern.

But the drugmaker’s defense lawyer argued there was no medical testimony indicating Vioxx had anything to do with the heart attack.

Vioxx went on the market in 1999; Merck pulled it two years ago, after a study suggested a risk of heart attack.