In 2009, pharmacists filled over 200 million prescriptions for statins, the drug that’s thought to prevent heart attacks and strokes. And, manufacturers of the drug, more commonly known as Zocor, Lipitor, Pravachol and Mevacor, take in $26.2 billion a year from the pills’ sales. Though these medications are hugely popular, their effectiveness has come under tough scrutiny. Researchers question how safe statins really are and recent studies show that users of statins might not get the results they’re promised – indicating that drug companies are neglecting research, and pushing for doctors to recommend the drug in order to boost sales. How much are patients benefiting from taking the cholesterol-reducing medication? Are statins vastly overprescribed?
Guest:
Dr. Sanjay Kaul, MD on the FDA panel about statins, wrote about statins for Journal of the American Medical Association, a cardiologist at the Cedars Sinai Heart Institute.