Radio
Statin Drugs Effective in Combatting High Cholesterol
Source: NBN/CP RadioWire
Aug 12, 2004, 17:13

In a Forbes Magazine article, it was estimated that statins are taken by more than 11-million Americans and represent 26-billion dollars in annual sales.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly 40-million Americans have total cholesterol levels of 240 or above.  New guidelines suggest that people at high risk should get their bad cholesterol levels, or L-D-L, as low as 70.  While some believe treatment with fixed dose combination products may be helpful to achieve these goals, many experts feel extremely effective statins, such as Crestor - when taken along with a healthy diet - are more than enough and are really the cornerstone of medical treatment in the fight against high cholesterol.  Doctor Tom Rifai, from Northpointe Health Center in Michigan:

�The most important issue in terms of statin therapy is that a patient is on a statin.  Fixed dose combination drugs do have an advantage for some patients.  But otherwise, we prefer to separate the therapy and allow the flexibility of having each dose separately.�

Lifestyle and dietary modifications such as limiting saturated fats and increasing exercise are the first steps in combating rising cholesterol.  Sometimes, these lifestyle changes aren�t enough.  Drugs such as statins can help when properly prescribed and monitored by a physician. 

For more information on the statin class of drugs or Crestor, which may or may not be right for you, talk to your doctor or visit crestor-dot-com for more detailed prescribing information.