Dr. David Brown, chief of cardiovascular medicine at Stony Brook University Medical Center, said he knew exactly what to do when surprising results from a study involving the popular cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin were released earlier this week.
"I took my mother off it last night," he said. "It doesn't get any more personal than that."
Not only was Brown's mother taking Vytorin, but so were many of his patients. Phones were ringing constantly at his office yesterday - as they were at the offices of other heart specialists. Worried patients wanted to know whether they should be switched to other medications.
A European study found that Vytorin, made by pharmaceutical giants Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough, worked no better than an older generic drug. Vytorin is a combination pill composed of a drug called Zetia and another one called Zocor, a type of drug known as a statin.
The combo is designed to produce a double-barreled attack against artery-plugging plaque.
But a study by researchers in Amsterdam revealed that Zetia didn't add any medical benefit to the pill. Plaque seemed to accumulate at twice the rate of those on Vytorin compared with patients taking Zocor alone.
http://www.newsday.com/services/new...ealth/ny-hsvyto165539329jan16,0,4182556.story
This is the medication my daughter was put on
Her dad had a heart attack when he was 32, she has had high cholesterol since she was born which we tried to control through diet and exercise.
I finally gave in and put her on meds:bang:
"I took my mother off it last night," he said. "It doesn't get any more personal than that."
Not only was Brown's mother taking Vytorin, but so were many of his patients. Phones were ringing constantly at his office yesterday - as they were at the offices of other heart specialists. Worried patients wanted to know whether they should be switched to other medications.
A European study found that Vytorin, made by pharmaceutical giants Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough, worked no better than an older generic drug. Vytorin is a combination pill composed of a drug called Zetia and another one called Zocor, a type of drug known as a statin.
The combo is designed to produce a double-barreled attack against artery-plugging plaque.
But a study by researchers in Amsterdam revealed that Zetia didn't add any medical benefit to the pill. Plaque seemed to accumulate at twice the rate of those on Vytorin compared with patients taking Zocor alone.
http://www.newsday.com/services/new...ealth/ny-hsvyto165539329jan16,0,4182556.story
This is the medication my daughter was put on
Her dad had a heart attack when he was 32, she has had high cholesterol since she was born which we tried to control through diet and exercise.
I finally gave in and put her on meds:bang:
