Word: lovastatin
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Last week, though, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study that's forcing me to reconsider. It turns out that as many as 6 million Americans could reduce still further their already low risk of heart disease by popping lovastatin, a relatively new cholesterol-controlling drug manufactured by Merck. The big question for each of us, of course, is whether we are among the 6 million...
...which showed that in men and women with normal and near normal cholesterol levels, treatment with Mevacor reduced the incidence of first coronary events such as heart attack or unstable angina 36%. Unfortunately, the article incorrectly cited the generic name of Mevacor as pravastatin. The correct generic name is lovastatin. JOHN BLOOMFIELD, Director, Public Affairs Merck & Co., Inc. West Point...
...study, begun in 1984 and reported at an American Heart Association meeting last year, involved 146 men with high cholesterol levels and a family history of heart disease. Brown divided his subjects into three groups, one taking niacin and colestipol, the second receiving colestipol and another cholesterol reducer, lovastatin. The third or control group got only a pair of placebos. All the men were placed on a diet that limited fats to 30% of total calories, the level recommended by the A.H.A. Here, too, after 2 1/2 years, those taking the drugs experienced large drops in their total cholesterol level...
...steak and eggs. Yet taking drugs for a lifetime can have unintended and perhaps dangerous side effects. The well-established anticholesterol drugs, including cholestyramine and nicotinic acid, seem to be relatively safe, but they can produce such discomforts as nausea and intestinal pain. Newer drugs, like the heavily promoted lovastatin, may be better tolerated, but their long-term safety and effectiveness have not been established. Moreover, reducing cholesterol too far may carry some risk. Some studies, not yet confirmed, have shown a link between abnormally low cholesterol levels and increased danger of cancer and stroke...
...retired barber in Canonsburg, Pa., have a genetic disorder that results in very high levels of LDL and low levels of HDL. Daniel has suffered a heart attack, and both brothers have had bypass surgery. Now the Brunos are on low-saturated-fat diets and are taking lovastatin. In addition, Michael is taking gemfibrozil. Since the brothers started their programs, Michael's total cholesterol has fallen from 224 to 184, and Daniel's from 325 to 201. Both brothers' HDL levels have gone up sharply. "I can't imagine that I used to sit down to a 1 1/2-lb...