Mixed Safety Results on Cholesterol Drug
June 12, 2005 20:11

The study seemed to challenge a recent decision by the Food and Drug Administration to keep Crestor on the market. But it also showed that over all, these kinds of drugs, known as statins, were safe. Even the risks of serious problems with Crestor, which is manufactured by AstraZeneca, are very low, said the authors of the study, one of the largest reviews of the nationwide use of statin drugs. Officials of the American Heart Association, which published the findings online in its journal, Circulation, at www.circulationaha.org, said in a news conference that patients should continue taking any statin, including Crestor, until they could consult their doctor. Dr. Alice K. Jacobs, president of the heart association and a cardiologist at Boston University, said statins had been used safely for 20 years.