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Crestor Cholesterol

Crestor (also known as ZD 4522 and rosuvastatin) is an enzyme blocker (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor), also known as a statin. When combined with a healthy diet and exercise, statins are seen to aid in lowering fats and cholesterol in the blood. The lowering of these factors is seen as aiding in the decrease in heart attacks, heart disease, and diabetes.

Statins stop an enzyme in the body that produces cholesterol. There are two main types of cholesterol that can relate to your health, they are known as LDL (Low-density lipoproteins) the "bad" cholesterol, and HDL (High-density lipoproteins) the "good" cholesterol. Cholesterol is an important waxy fatty substance and is used by your body to produce new cells, among other things. If you have a large amount of cholesterol produced, particularly LDLs, then you may be at risk for an arterial hardening. Arteriosclerosis, as its known, can lead to heart disease or heart attacks.

The FDA approved Crestor in August of 2003 as a medication for relieving high cholesterol. Its release was delayed for a year, however, because the FDA was looking into results of testing that showed that Crestor had dangerous side effects. While lowering your cholesterol is important, not having side effects that could be disastrous is more important. Crestor for cholesterol has been known to cause side effects such as kidney failure, muscle damage, fever, yellowing eyes and skin, dark urine, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, or fatigue.

The citizen's watch group "Public Citizen" has repeated calls to the FDA to remove Crestor from the market. The most concerning side effect for Crestor cholesterol are reports of rhabdomyolysis and kidney disease. A 39-year old woman died in 2004 from rhabdomyolysis related to taking Crestor. Public Citizen has stated that it thinks Crestor is more damaging and causes more frequently occurring side effects than other statins.

After less than half a year on the market, Crestor for cholesterol has seen seven patients with life-threatening cases of rhabdomyolysis and nine persons with kidney failure, including the fatality. As a result, Crestor has come under recent scrutiny and many companies are not agreeing to back them as a drug to be used for cholesterol lowering purposes.

The parent company of Crestor, AstraZeneca, has denied that Crestor should not be used or prescribed to treat cholesterol. The statin market is a market of heavy competition, consisting of some $20 billion worth of yearly sales. Pfizer, the maker of Lipitor, currently dominates the statin market.

If you or someone you know has been prescribed and taken Crestor for cholesterol lowering purposes, and has had side effects that were serious and diagnosed, you are eligible for a free consultation with one of the lawyers listed on this Web site. Lawsuits against drug companies are these lawyers' specialties.

Contact a Crestor Recall Lawyer

More Crestor Resources

Crestor Side Effects - Information from Online Lawyer Source.com

Crestor - Official pharmaceutical website from Astra Zeneca.

Mercola.com - "Crestor and Other Statins: Are They Really Worth the Risk?"