Results from a recent global clinical study have found that the cholesterol-reducing drug, rosuvastatin, decreases the risk of death and heart attack in healthy people. Rosuvastatin is on Jamaica's list of subsidised National Health Fund drugs.

The worldwide, AstraZeneca-backed scientific research showed that for patients in the trial taking rosuvastatin: the combined risk of heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular (CV) death was reduced by nearly half (47 per cent); the risk of heart attack was cut by more than half (54 per cent); the risk of stroke was cut by nearly half (48 per cent,) and total mortality was significantly reduced by 20 per cent.

Excess LDL ('bad') cholesterol in the blood is deposited in the walls of arteries, the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart and brain. The accumulation of LDL causes a narrowing and instability in the artery walls, which ultimately can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Howard Hutchinson, chief medical officer for AstraZeneca, said that these results provide new information about rosuvastatin's effects on CV risk.

Source: RO Communications