Cholesterol Drug Crestor May Benefit Healthy People

In a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the makers of Crestor, AstraZeneca, it was found that the drug may be beneficial to people with healthy cholesterol levels by helping to reducing their risk of heart disease. Crestor, which is a statin, is normally prescribed to people that need help lowering their cholesterol. In the U.S., an estimated 36 million people qualify for a prescription to some type of statin drug, a number which will grow significantly because of this study’s findings.

According to the study published earlier this month, statins have proven effective in the 7,000 men and 5,000 women included in the trials who all had good cholesterol levels. The participants, coming from 26 different countries, had an average LDL level (bad cholesterol) of 108 and an average HDL level (good cholesterol) of 49. All of the participants, however, had an elevated hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), suggesting inflammation that can lead to coronary heart disease. The study participants took either a 20 milligram dose of Crestor (chemical name rosuvastatin calcium) or a placebo pill. In less than 2 years, the risk of stroke, heart attack and death dropped by nearly half (44%) in those that took Crestor, when compared with those taking the dummy pill. In addition to that, those that were taking the statin drug also saw a 50 percent drop in their LDL level (bad cholesterol) and a 37 percent drop in their hs-CRP levels.

Authors of the study estimate that 250,000 heart attacks, strokes, cardiac deaths and hospitalizations could possibly be avoided if these new candidates took statins over the next 5 years to lower their hs-CRP levels, and their overall risk. If changes are made to the current guidelines for statin prescriptions, people with good cholesterol levels would need to have a blood test done to see if their hs-CRP levels were high. If their levels were high enough for concern, these candidates would be able to begin taking the statin drugs and start lowering their risk of these serious health problems. More research still needs to be conducted before the guidelines will be changed, though this study did reveal some very useful information.

Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States. If you or a loved one has medical malpractice questions in New York, please contact the malpractice lawyers of Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, serving clients in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, Staten Island and Westchester County.

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