Heart Disease Health Center

Crestor FAQ: New Benefits for Statins

Do the JUPITER findings apply only to Crestor?

Crestor was the only statin drug studied in the JUPITER trial. No similar studies have been completed for other statins.

All members of the statin family have similar modes of action. Some experts believe other statins will have benefits similar to those seen for Crestor in people with relatively low cholesterol levels.

Crestor is one of the strongest statin drugs in terms of its ability to lower cholesterol, but different patients do better with different statins.

I have low cholesterol. Why might I benefit from statins?

A person's cholesterol level is only one factor that contributes to heart disease. Many people have heart attacks despite having low cholesterol levels.

Statin drugs have many effects beyond mere cholesterol lowering. One of these effects is to lower inflammation, which plays a major role in heart disease. Not all the benefits (or risks) of long-term statin use are known, but the drugs clearly lower a person's risk of heart disease.

But the new findings may well change treatment guidelines. Doctors may now wish to order high-sensitivity CRP blood tests for patients with some risk for heart disease, even if they have low cholesterol levels. Relatively high CRP levels may convince patients -- and their doctors -- that it's time to start statin treatment.

It's not a simple decision. Once a person starts statin therapy, treatment usually continues for life. And while generic drugs cost less, treatment isn't cheap. Crestor, which is not available as a generic drug, costs about $3.45 per day.