|
|
 Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone
|
Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone, even those with healthy cholesterol levels
The new statin drug that cuts the risk of heart attacks and strokes for EVERYONE
By Jenny Hope
A new statin drug dramatically cuts the number of heart attacks and strokes, even for people without high cholesterol
In a major trial, daily treatment with Crestor slashed the rate of heart problems and deaths by 44 per cent
Crucially, the U.S. study involved those who would not normally be considered at risk of heart problems
Their cholesterol was at 'healthy' levels that would not qualify them for statin treatment in the UK and many other countries
But they all had high levels of a protein linked to heart disease. Now the U.S. researchers want this factor to be considered when deciding who will receive statins.
British experts say the study could open a new era in assessing people's risk of heart attacks and strokes
The trial, called Jupiter, involved almost 18,000 people - one in seven of them from the UK. They all had high levels of a protein called hsCRP - high sensitivity C-reactive protein - which is linked to inflammation in the arteries
Crestor, which is already available on the NHS, cut these levels and also halved levels of the 'bad' cholesterol known as LDL.
Heart attacks were cut by 54 per cent, strokes by 48 per cent and the need for angioplasty or bypass by 46 per cent among the group on Crestor compared to those taking a placebo or dummy pill
Those taking Crestor, also known as rosuvastatin, were actually 20 per cent less likely to die from any cause
The results were so dramatic that the trial was stopped in March, halfway through its planned four-year run, because it was considered unethical to keep giving placebos to half the patients
The results of the study will be released today at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Chicago
More than four million Britons regularly take statins to control cholesterol. Eight out of ten use the cheapest generic drug, simvastatin, which costs just £1.42 a month
Crestor, which is made by AstraZeneca, costs £26 a month for a 20mg dose
Experts warned against trying to replicate the effects of Crestor - the newest and most effective statin - by using other statins at higher doses
Professor Martin Cowie, professor of cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, said it was apparent that some statins worked differently from others
He said simply giving patients massive doses of other statins would not necessarily work and could push upside effects to unacceptable levels
Professor Cowie pointed out that GPs and cardiologists are under increasing pressure to cut the drugs bill by putting patients on the cheapest statins. He said: 'I sympathise with the need to consider costs but you have to balance risks and benefits amid this push to switch patients to generic drugs.'
Dr Sarah Jarvis, women's health spokesman for the Royal College of General Practitioners, said the Jupiter findings were 'extremely exciting' and meant hsCRP levels were becoming an important measure of heart health. She said: 'The study shows a 50 per cent reduction in LDL for all patients, and we've never had a big enough study to demonstrate this in women before
'This high-intensity statin saves lives with safety and tolerability levels that other statins can't match.
'To get this kind of effect from simvastatin, for example, would mean increasing the dose so high that you get horrendous side effects, as other research has now proved.'
Professor Jim Shepherd, professor of Vascular Biochemistry at the University of Glasgow-Royal Infirmary, said last night: 'The study has significant implications for the future of cardiovascular risk management.'
The benefits to men and women in the trial were nearly twice what doctors expect from statins among patients with high cholesterol
However, experts warned against trying to replicate the effects of Crestor - the newest and most effective statin - by using other statins at higher doses
The lead researcher on the Jupiter study was Dr Paul Ridker, director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
He said: 'Half of all heart attacks and strokes occur in men and women with normal cholesterol.
'We've been searching for ways to improve detection of risk in those patients.
'We can no longer assume that a patient with low cholesterol is a safe patient.'
A Danish study released last month appeared to rule out Creactive protein as a cause of heart attacks. But the Jupiter team said high hsCRP levels could indicate a greater chance that fatty plaques in the arteries could break off and cause stroke or heart attack.
Volunteers in the Jupiter trial were middle-aged men and women with hsCRP levels averaging more than four times the preferred level.
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said last night: 'The Jupiter study is the first to show that rosuvastatin reduces heart attacks and saves lives, even in people whose cholesterol is not raised. It strongly supports the "lower is better" approach to cholesterol management.
'However, further studies are required to determine if measuring C-Reactive Protein is the right way to identify people likely to gain most from treatment.'
Jupiter stands for Justification for the Use of statins in primary Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1084345/The-n...ERYONE.html?ITO=1490
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
| العنوان |
الكاتب |
Date |
| Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-13-08, 11:46 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-13-08, 11:50 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-13-08, 10:23 PM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-13-08, 11:20 PM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-13-08, 11:45 PM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | smart_ana2001 | 11-13-08, 11:50 PM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-14-08, 06:31 PM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | jini | 11-14-08, 11:51 PM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 00:38 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 01:38 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 01:41 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 01:43 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 01:52 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 02:04 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 10:08 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 11:46 AM |
| Re: Statins could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes for everyone | Mohamed Omer | 11-16-08, 05:02 PM |
|
| |
Mohamed Omer
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست