Crestor Side Effects

By Author: Alexis Kenne
Total Articles: 37
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Crestor is AstraZeneca's third-biggest drug and one of its fastest growing. It had sales of $2.8bn last year, up 33 per cent. Crestor is manufactured by AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP of Wilmington, Delaware and has been linked with multiple side effects, including kidney failure, kidney damage and life-threatening rhabdomyolysis which involves the destruction of muscle tissue.

According to the consumer group Public Citizen, which has repeatedly called for a ban on the drug, the rate of reported kidney problems is about 75 times higher with Crestor than with all other drugs in the same class combined. CRESTOR is not right for everyone, including anyone who has previously had an allergic reaction to CRESTOR, anyone with liver problems, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or who may become pregnant. Your doctor will do blood tests before and during treatment with CRESTOR to monitor your liver function.

Crestor is just another strong statin, using the same mechanisms as the others and having all the inherent potential for side effects. My books tell of the inevitable harm to the mevalonate tree by statins but that ...
... was the only way drug company biochemists could inhibit cholesterol so they did it anyhow, regardless of the potential for collateral damage. Crestor is the sixth cholesterol lowering statin drug on the U.S. The other members of the statin family are atorvastatin (lipitor), fluvastatin (lescol), lovastatin (mevacor), pravastatin (pravachol), and simvastatin (zocor).

Crestor is the sixth cholesterol lowering statin drug on the U.S. The other members of the statin family are atorvastatin (lipitor), fluvastatin (lescol), lovastatin (mevacor), pravastatin (pravachol), and simvastatin (zocor). Crestor is the only statin to have caused rhabdomyolysis before being approved by the FDA. If you suspect Crestor related side effects, have a doctor diagnose your symptoms immediately.

Crestor has been available in the US since 2003 and comes only by doctor prescription. You should not drink alcohol while taking Crestor, and you should maintain the low-fat diet prescribed by your physician. Crestor Prescribing Information ; Source B; ( from Rx List.com; the #1 drug information site on the internet) ; prescribing information; dose, mechanism of action, side effects, precautions, patient information. Use this site if you are unable to see the official Crestor website. Crestor is prescribed only if diet, exercise, and weight loss fail to lower your cholesterol levels. It's important to remember that Crestor is meant to supplement-not replace-these lifestyle changes.

Crestor has been associated with different side effects. Side effects of Crestor can vary with dose. Crestor may harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant, stop taking Crestor and contact your healthcare professional immediately. Crestor has doubtless benefited from the uncertainty surrounding rival Merck/Schering-Plough's Vytorin, which has stumbled since its ENHANCE trial showed no benefit in fighting atherosclerosis. In February, AstraZeneca launched ads touting the findings of its METEOR study, which showed Crestor to be effective in slowing atherosclerosis.

Crestor side effects included risks of muscle and kidney damage while failing to show the ability to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, as well as to lower cholesterol levels, according to Public Citizen. The allowance of Crestor on the market despite what Public Citizen director Sidney Wolfe describes as a unique toxicity that distinguishes this drug from the other statins is part of the reason the group petitioned the FDA to immediately remove Crestor from the market on March 4, 2004. Crestor labels already contain appropriate warnings; however in their June 9, 2004 health advisory, the FDA reinforces concern regarding the European label changes. CRESTOR is contraindicated in women who are or may become pregnant . Serum cholesterol and triglycerides increase during normal pregnancy, and cholesterol products are essential for fetal development.

CRESTOR should be used with caution in patients who consume substantial quantities of alcohol. CRESTOR 10mg gets significantly more patients to their European LDL-C goal than atorvastatin 10mg (82% v 51% respectively), simvastatin 20mg (80% v 48%) and pravastatin 20mg (80% v 16%). In addition to the dramatic reductions seen in LDL-C, CRESTOR produces a significant increase in HDL-C (�good� cholesterol), as well as reducing total cholesterol and triglycerides. Crestor muscle pain and rhabdomyolosis are the result of toxic levels of potassium and myoglobin release into the blood stream. This causes a decrease in the amount of blood that is circulating in the body (called hypovolemia).

Crestor should never be used during pregnancy because a developing baby needs plenty of cholesterol. Your doctor will prescribe Crestor only if you are highly unlikely to become pregnant while taking this drug. Crestor is a member of the drug class known as the statins , which are used to lower cholesterol . Crestor stops the liver from being able to make certain chemicals that result in the production of cholesterol . Crestor sales topped $908 million worldwide last year. AstraZeneca shares closed at $41.90 Monday, down 22 cents.

Crestor and low dose aspirin were prescribed as an aggressive form of treatment. The cardiologist was very pleased with the results after only a month's trial. Crestor is manufactured and aggressively marketed by the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and is approved in doses up to 40 milligrams in strength. Approval of this cholesterol drug was delayed with the Crestor warning that higher doses increase the likelihood of serious adverse health risks. Crestor is in the popular family of cholesterol-lowering drugs called Statins. Several years ago Baycol, another popular statin drug, was banned for its link to Rhabdomyolysis.

Crestor and another fast-growing cholesterol drug, Vytorin, have been taking share away from the cholesterol-drug market leader, Pfizer's Lipitor, which is the best-selling drug in the world with $12.9 billion in sales last year. Vytorin is marketed by a joint venture of Merck & Co. Crestor was one of them. Crestor, a member of a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs commonly referred to as 'statins', was approved in the U.S. Crestor's ads imply that Crestor patients may be able to take a lower dosage of that drug than of another statin. That's important, supporters say, because the possibility of side effects increases with a drug's dosage and strength.
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