Health Alert 175
A new statin drug, Crestor, has hit the market. Clever television campaigns are targeting people who have “high” cholesterol. What the ads don’t say is that a deadly condition called rhabdomyolysis is a potential side effect of Crestor. This condition was the reason the statin drug Baycol was taken off the market a few years back after 31 people died from this very dangerous side effect.
Today, you’ll learn about the dark side of Creator, the latest lethal statin drug. I’ll also tell you how to improve your cholesterol safely.
* Petition to Ban Crestor *
On March 4th, the Public Citizen’s Health Research Group (PCHRG) petitioned the FDA to ban Crestor. During the clinical trials of Crestor, 7 people suffered from the life threatening condition rhabdomyolysis. Additionally 9 other people suffered from serious kidney damage while taking the drug.1
Here’s the bewildering part of the story: Rhabdomyolysis was never observed in the pre-approval trials of Baycol. All cases of this lethal side effect occurred in users after the drug had been approved. Yet it was observed in the pre-approval testing of Crestor. After the outrageous approval of Baycol without knowledge and warning of the potentially fatal consequence of taking it and the subsequent nightmarish deaths, it defies all logic to approve Crestor. It has to make you wonder if the FDA is looking out for you or the prescription drug industry.
Wellpoint/Blue Cross, a major health insurer of about 15 million people decided not to cover the new drug on their formulary. Now there is news of additional insurers refusing to approve the use of this drug. Particularly since they can identify no unique benefit over existing drugs.2
Baycol was approved in 1997. On August 8, 2001, Bayer recalled Baycol after documenting 31 cases of fatal
rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdomyolysis is a condition that results in muscle cell breakdown. The content of the muscle cells is then released into the bloodstream. Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain, weakness, tenderness, fever, dark urine, nausea, and vomiting. The pain may involve specific groups of muscles, typically the calves and back. In other cases the pain is generalized throughout the body. In fatal cases, the extent of muscle damage is so severe that renal and other organ failure occurs.3My experience with statin drugs tells me that many people get muscle pain to a lesser extent. Most don’t report it. When they do tell their doctor’s, he or she often fails to recognize it as a side effect of the statin drug. This is particularly troubling to me because it has the effect of making people who have high cholesterols less likely to exercise – the best cure for most cholesterol problems. When they do, they easily fatigue and their muscle get sore and are slow to recover.
* Who Needs A Statin Drug? *
Current guidelines indicate anyone with total cholesterol over 200 is a candidate for a statin drug. Yet total cholesterol is not the indicator to be concerned about as so much as the ratios. In contrast to what you here from the drug company sponsored studies, the best improvement to you cholesterol ratios comes from raising your HDL. Remember best way to increase HDL (good) cholesterol is through exercise.
Safe, more natural methods exist to achieve healthy cholesterol ratios. If you are concerned about your cholesterol adopt these healthy practices:
• Exercise 20 minutes every other day
• Eliminate trans fats from your diet (French fries, fried fish and chicken, commercially baked crackers and cookies, basically anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated soybean oil)
• Increase your omega-3 fatty acid intake with fish oils, avocados, nuts, olives and eggs. Yes eggs. They improve cholesterol ratios and are loaded with CoQ10 and Omega 3’s.
• Supplement with COQ10 and garlic.
Al Sears, MD
1. Wolfe, S. Worst Pills, Best Pills, Vol. 10, No. 4, April 2004: 28-29.
2. Ibid.
3. FDA Press Release: Bayer Voluntarily Withdraws Baycol, August 8, 2001.