Crestor Correlated with Cardiac Arrest

Director of Public Citizen, a public health advocacy group, Sidney Wolfe described it as a "unique toxicity that distinguishes this drug from the other statins". The drug he’s referring to is Crestor. Public Citizen wanted to remove it in March of 2004. There have been several cases of rhabdomyolysis which is the breakdown of muscle fibers resulting in the release of muscle fiber contents into the circulation. Some of these are toxic to the kidney and can result in kidney infection. Related Crestor side effects include cardiac arrest resulting from potassium released form the damaged muscle cells, causing malignant heart rhythms.

Crestor Cardiomyopathy: Heart Problems While Preventing Heart Disease

Many patients begin taking statin or super-statin drugs like Crestor because they are worried about high cholesterol, which can contribute to other conditions such as heart disease. Because of this, it is especially concerning that the drug itself could contribute to a heart condition – called cardiomyopathy, the potentially deadly disease is characterized by weakening of the heart muscles. Other Crestor side effects have been noted and linked to Crestor, including muscle pain and weakness, muscle tenderness, and muscle wasting, also known as myopathy. Rhabdomyolysis is also a serious concern for Crestor users. It is a condition marked by rapid damage to muscle tissue, leading to damaged cells. These cells release a toxin into the bloodstream which has been known to cause kidney damage and kidney failure. Liver damage and diabetes have also been linked to the super-statin.

Crestor Death Rare – But Still Too Frequent

Crestor, also known as rosuvastatin, is considered the most dangerous – and yet most effective – of the “statin” drugs. But is effectivness worth the serious side effects of Crestor? A 20mg dose can reduce bad cholesterol in a patient by 50 to 55 percent, as compared to a 20mg dose of the less potent but similar drug Lipitor, which reduces bad cholesterol by 40 to 45 percent. However, Crestor seems to also bear a much higher risk of side effects than similar drugs.

Pittsburgh Medical Center internist and clinical pharmacologist Matthew F. Muldoon said in 2010 that most clinicians see statin side effects in at least 5 percent of patients and, in some cases, as many as 20 percent. This means that 1 in every 5 patients could be experiencing side effects. Most Crestor side effects are relatively mild – muscle and joint pain is the most common complaint, and is not difficult to treat – but sometimes other conditions manifest that have been linked to the drug, and these are much more serious. These side effects have led to a series of Crestor lawsuits.

Rhabdomyolysis, which is a severe kidney disorder, has been linked to Crestor, as has heart muscle disease, or cardiomyopathy. Although these side effects are rare, they can be particularly deadly, and are linked to Crestor deaths. Crestor is one of the most popular prescription drugs in the United States and because of this a broader range of people may be affected by the side effects associated with it.
There is an ongoing debate in the medical community regarding whether or not Crestor should be pulled from shelves. One argument is that it is the most effective cholesterol-reducing drug on the market today. The opposing side is quick to point out that drugs like Lipitor, while they have a lesser effectiveness, have a similar result and a lower risk for serious side effects.

Crestor death resulting from cardiomyopathy may be able to be prevented if a patient takes supplements that contain Coenzyme Q10, which can replenish the supply of this particular enzyme. Coenzyme Q10 is vital to the heart and seems to be destroyed when Crestor is taken.

It will likely be some time before the Food and Drug Administration initiates a Crestor recall, if it ever happens. Evidence suggests that far more people see the benefits of the medication than the more severe side effects. Even so, alternative medications such as Lipitor or Zocor may be safer.

Cholesterol Reduction Drugs May Lead to Kidney Failure

Astrazeneca has begun to get ready for Crestor lawsuits in the wake of a new study being undertaken by the FDA, which is trying to assess the risks of taking Crestor and its link to muscle injury. Crestor lawsuits allege that Crestor is unsafe. The safety has not only been called into question in Crestor lawsuits. In fact, two major healthcare insurers with over 15 million patients have refused to reimburse for Crestor. While Astraceneca, the parent company of Crestor, did not release specific numbers regarding Crestor sales in the United States nor its profit numbers for the American market, those numbers are likely to fall somewhat as the emerging issues regarding Crestor side effects continues to grow.
Non-profit public interest group Public Citizen claims that Crestor side effects are severe enough to warrant a ban on the drug, and that the FDA should never have approved Crestor in the first place, since at least seven incidences of severe Crestor side effects were reported during the drug's trial phase. The rate of reported kidney problems is about 75 times higher with Crestor than with all other drugs in the same class combined, consumer group Public Citizen said. According to its analysis, there have been 6.4 reports of acute kidney failure or kidney damage for every 1 million Crestor prescriptions filled.
Crestor is the most potent statin on the market since its predecessor, Baycol, was voluntarily removed from shelves in 2001. Some Crestor side effects could prove crippling or even deadly - rhabdomyolysis occurs when a large number of skeletal muscle cells die, resulting in the release of a massive amount of muscle protein into the bloodstream. This leads to the deadliest of Crestor side effects, when the muscle protein becomes trapped in the kidneys, affecting the filtering process of the kidneys and leading to kidney failure. Related Crestor side effects include cardiac arrest resulting from potassium released from the damaged muscle cells, causing malignant heart rhythms. Astrazeneca has made no statement regarding these risks except for the standard warning that goes along with all statins. Potential plaintiffs who have any questions in regards to Crestor litigation and filing a lawsuit of their own should first speak to an experienced Crestor lawyer.