AstraZeneca, the Swiss drug maker that currently sits firmly in the top ten of global pharmaceutical giants, may be running into some issues with its newest billion-dollar-baby, Crestor. It seems the cholesterol lowering “statin” (the category of all cholesterol lowering drugs) has some side effects that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was unaware of when it approved the drug in 2003.

One of the side effects of Crestor (Rosuvastatin) is Rhabdomyolysis, a muscle disease that depletes muscle mass in the body, sometimes in sections, sometimes over the entirety of the body, which can cause weakness in the most important muscle in the body, the heart.

In a research study done by independent watchdog group, Public Citizen, they compared prescription data of Crestor to other statins. The research found that Crestor caused rhabdomyolysis almost 22 times more than its lowest dose competitor and 3 times more than its highest dose competitor.

The reason for the study’s outcome is that the higher the dose of the active ingredient, rosuvastatin, the higher the risk of rhabdomyolysis. Crestor touts to be the most powerful statin on the market today. More is better, right? No, in fact, studies have found that 10 mg of the drug has amazingly good effects, but the benefits plateau and the side effects start getting more acute at higher doses.

That means, even though the drug has slightly better results, the risks far outweigh the benefits you gain. This of course all leads up to the question:

Does Crestor Cause Heart Attacks and Stroke?

The short answer is, “Not directly.” But as with all statins you will notice some weakness and fatigue. If this turns into rhabdomyolysis, then the benefits of lower risk of heart attack through unclogged arteries is negated. The problems are then replaced with a very real and long lasting disease that may be worse than the original cholesterol problem and cause a series of serious problems including heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, or liver failure.

John Kjekshus of the University of Oslo and colleagues conducted a study amongst 5000 patients that found the benefits of Crestor was not so significant as compared to placebo, but the weakening of the heart was a major concern, especially patients in danger of heart failure.

“Our findings suggest the major cause of death in these patients was likely not to be related to atherosclerotic events, where benefit with statins in non-heart failure patients has been demonstrated, but instead may have been caused by the deterioration of failing heart muscle damaged beyond repair,” John Kjekshus of the University of Oslo said in a statement.

There is a difference between a heart attack and heart failure. Heart failure is a hard-to-treat condition in which the weakened heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body’s need for oxygen, causing shortage of breath and other problems. It is a leading cause of hospitalization among the elderly and may lead to the need of a host of other pharmaceuticals such as beta-blockers.

But at a certain point the depletion of the heart muscle leads to not only heart attacks, but also strokes. Strokes (or “brain attacks”) are due to the lack of blood pressure that is flowing through the brain from the heart weakened by rhabdomyolysis. This can lead to paralysis, loss of speech, or severely degraded cognitive ability.

Crestor Attorneys

AstraZeneca produced Crestor to profit off of the raised awareness of high-cholesterol and its serious affects on the health of patients as they get older. The drug having a higher dose of rosuvastatin as compared to other statins makes it unique, but also might have been the wrong approach to the root cause of the problem. Like we said, it might make the side effects worse with little of the benefits to reflect the risk.

General side effects for most statins are:

• Muscle Pain
• Liver Damage
• Digestive Problems
• Rashes and Blemishes

But the increased dosage of Crestor has shown to shown found in another study conducted by Public Citizen to cause Crestor patients to also have renal failure 9kidney failure) 75 times more than other statins. This is also a major problem for patients who may have had previous kidney problems and are suffering from liver damage.

This prompted the non-profit watchdog group to issue a request to the FDA in 2004 that they take the drug off of the market. The FDA responded with a stack of AstraZeneca paid research and a refusal. The government regulatory agency has yet to adjust the side effects and warnings on the label or order an independent study to address claims and put the issue to rest.

AstraZeneca’s sales of Crestor have been raising steadily and yields more than $2.5 billion in 56 markets around the world. That means millions of patients are at risk from the serious side effects of heart attack and stroke caused by weakened muscles.

If you or your loved one has suffered a heart attack or stroke while taking Crestor, it is very important that you find a skilled attorney that is experienced in defective drug litigation so that you can get the compensation you deserve. Call Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Crestor
• Defective Drugs
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