Mr. Hack-Hook, sir,
My cardiologist wants me to take atorvistastin, and it is covered by my medical insurance pharmaceutical formulary. If you are a cardiologist, you shouldn't be giving drug advice to unexamined strangers on the internet. Right?? And, if you are not a cardiologist, you shouldn't be giving drug advice to strangers on the internet.
Statins: Atorvastatin vs. Rosuvastatin
Study shows both cholesterol-lowering drugs are equally safe and effective.
A recent study published by the
New England Journal of Medicine pitted two of the top statins against each other to see which is more effective — atorvastatin (Lipitor) or rosuvastatin (Crestor). Both drugs work in the same way, helping to block a chemical necessary for making cholesterol. In turn, they help lower cholesterol, reduce risk for cardiac events and slow the progression of heart disease. And although they are the most effective drugs in lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, researchers wondered if one drug would perform better in reversing plaque build-up and reducing cardiac event rates.
Over 1,000 patients with heart disease participated in this study — half of whom took the maximum daily dose of atorvastatin (80 mg) while the other half were prescribed the maximum daily dose of rosuvastatin (40 mg). After following participants for more than two years, researchers found that rosuvastatin was more effective in lowering “bad cholesterol” and raising “good cholesterol.” However, maximal doses of both drugs were equally effective in helping to reverse heart disease by clearing about 1% of plaque from the arteries, and resulted in similar rates of side effects and cardiac events among patients.
Based on findings, atorvastatin and rosuvastatin are equally as safe and effective in lowering cholesterol and possibly reversing plaque build-up with aggressive treatment. And although rosuvastatin may help decrease LDL cholesterol better than atorvastatin, this may not be an important difference in terms of improved outcomes and slowed disease progression.