Good news on bad cholesterol
In a positive move in the battle against heart disease in Australia a new medication that simultaneously reduces bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol is about to become available on pharmaceutical benefits.
CRESTOR is a new cholesterol treatment that could reverse important aspects in the development of heart disease. It has a powerful effect on both good cholesterol (HDL-C) and bad cholesterol (LDL-C) and has been the centre of research to determine whether the medication can reverse the build up of fatty deposits in the arteries, known as atherosclerotic plaque, which is responsible for heart attacks and stroke.
The research showed that CRESTOR’s effect, with aggressive treatment in a high-risk patient population, can result in reversal of plaque build up in arteries in three out of five patients.
Cardiologists who have trialled the medication in Australian patients say CRESTOR (rosuvastatin) will bolster efforts to combat cholesterol problems – a contributing factor to one in five of the 50,000 cardiovascular deaths in the country each year.
Studies involving more than 50,000 patients have found that CRESTOR is generally well tolerated.
To date CRESTOR has been used to treat cholesterol problems in more than 8.5 million patients in 75 countries.
It becomes available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme in Australia in early December for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia as an adjunct to diet when the response to diet and exercise is inadequate.
