Statin drug in patients without elevated bad (LDL) cholesterol? Yes! So says the JUPITER clinical trial.
The FDA announced yesterday (Feb. 8, 2010) approval of Crestor (rosuvastatin) for patients with elevated C-Reactive Protein (CRP) for men over 50, women over 60.
IF…..their CRP is over 2.0 and they have at least one other risk factor such as smoking, high blood pressure (BP), low good (HDL) cholesterol or a family history of early onset cardiovascular disease (CVD)…..even if they have no clinical evidence of CVD or high LDL cholesterol themselves.
CRP is a protein found in the blood. It is still uncertain if it is a risk factor for CVD itself, or just a marker, but a high CRP correlates with higher risk for heart attack and stroke.
Rosuvastatin has been in use for several years for traditional risk factors: clinically evident CVD, high BP, high LDL cholesterol, and cigarette smoking.
Rosuvastatin has the same side effect profile as other statin drugs such as Lipitor (atorvastatin) or simvastatin: rare muscle aches, infrequent usually transient liver enzyme increases.
While only Crestor was tested it is likely, although not proven, that other statin drugs afford the same protection in high CRP patients.
The decision to go on a statin drug is for patient and physician to determine. Many factors are involved in the genesis of Cardiovascular Disease. Your particular health picture is what decides.
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