A type of statin is found to lower cholesterol levels more effectively than other drugs

A STUDY on more than 1,000 Singapore patients with high cholesterol has unearthed a drug that appears to work better than most in managing their condition.

More than 500 patients in the study had been taking other kinds of cholesterol-management drugs, but when they switched to rosuvastatin, seven in 10 were able to reach their target cholesterol levels, up from three in 10 before.

And among the patients new to taking statins, eight in 10 of those who got started on rosuvastatin were able to reach their target.
 
Rosuvastatin is among seven currently prescribed forms of statins, a class of drug frequently used to lower blood cholesterol levels by blocking the action of a chemical in the liver necessary for making cholesterol.

Reducing one’s cholesterol level lowers one’s risk of cardiovascular disease. One in two people here has cholesterol levels that are too high, which puts them at risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death here. In 2008, it claimed 15 lives a day and accounted for nearly a third of all deaths.

Endocrinologist Tan Chee Eng from Gleneagles Medical Centre, who is one of the four researchers who conducted the study between 2004 and 2006, said the team did the survey without preconceived ideas.

The doctors treating the 1,007 patients in the study were given the discretion to increase the dosage of rosuvastatin when necessary, he said.

The findings of the study, published in the Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis in May last year, are relevant to Asians – and especially Singaporeans, who live fast-paced, busy lives fuelled by good food and drink.

Dr Tan said: “As we live longer and become bigger, the burden on the heart and blood vessels will increase. Singaporeans are paying the price for the kind of lifestyle they lead.”

Mr Tay Chong Chee, 56, is a walking example of that lifestyle.

The entrepreneur runs his own business and often has to entertain clients and business associates.

“Eating has become a large part of my life, so my weight, blood pressure and cholesterol skyrocketed. I also developed diabetes,” he said.

His cardiologist Lim Chin Hock put him on statins in 1996, but his cholesterol level yo-yoed.

In the last 14 years, he has tried four different statins.

Then in 2005, Mr Tay was put on rosuvastatin. His level of bad cholesterol sank to between 56mg/dl and 90mg/dl, within range of his ideal mark of 80mg/dl, a level set to take into account his diabetes and history of one mild stroke.

Meanwhile, busy as he is, Mr Tay has also set aside time for exercise if he is to work off 11kg from his 86kg frame.

Dr Tan has a message for patients on statins of any kind: The drug is to be taken for life, even after one reaches one’s target cholesterol level, because statins ensure that the sticky plaque lining one’s blood vessels do not break off and block blood vessels elsewhere.

“You may feel fine but you should never think you are cured,” he said.