March 30, 2009 - New analysis from the JUPITER study presented at the ACC in Orlando, FL shows that CRESTOR (rosuvastatin calcium) 20mg significantly cut the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) by 43 percent (p =0.007) compared to placebo among men and women with low to normal cholesterol levels and elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP).
The most common form of VTE is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which occurs in the 'deep veins' usually in the legs or pelvis. Additional results of this secondary endpoint analysis of JUPITER showed rosuvastatin 20mg produced a significant 55 percent (p=0.004) reduction in the risk of DVT and a non-significant 23 percent reduction in PE (p=0.42).
JUPITER (Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) was a long-term, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, large-scale study of 17,802 patients designed to determine if rosuvastatin 20 mg decreases the risk of heart attack, stroke and other major cardiovascular events in patients with low to normal LDL-C but at increased cardiovascular risk as identified by elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and age. The majority of patients had at least one other risk factor including hypertension, low HDL-C, family history of premature coronary heart disease (CHD) or smoking. hsCRP is a recognized marker of inflammation which is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events.
Studies have previously shown that CRESTOR significantly lowered LDL-C, had a significant effect on raising HDL-C and slowed the progression of atherosclerosis, the build-up of plaque in the arteries.
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