Asian Population at Highest Risk of Crestor Side Effects

Potential side effects of Crestor, a blockbuster cholesterol drug that has been used by millions of people, may be linked to an increased the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening heart problems, such as cardiomyopathy, as well as Crestor diabetes. These risks, though, seem to be heightened in the Asian population who have taken the drug. While the Crestor patients did have reduce levels of LDL -”bad”- cholesterol and an inflammatory marker called C-reactive protein, as well as reduced heart-related

hospitalizations, these benefits did not translate to a lower death rate from heart failure in the Crestor patients.  Asian patients were found to be at even higher risk for Crestor side effects than Caucasians and that the benefits of the drug rendered Crestor ineffective in much of the Asian population.

FDA is providing up-to-date information about the risk of  Crestor rhabdomyolysis (serious muscle damage) in patients as well as those taking other statin drugs, the agency was in a press release. This is a well-known, rare adverse effect of all statins. Extensive review of the large amount of data available to date from controlled trials as well as the latest post-marketing safety information indicates that patients taking recommended doses of Crestor have a similar risk of rhabdomyolysis as patients on other statin cholesterol treatments. The revised labeling notes that this may be particularly important for treating Asian American patients, since clinical data suggest that they, along with patients on cyclosporine or patients with severe renal insufficiency may have higher drug levels and therefore be at greater risk for muscle injury due to Crestor than the general population.

Although a number of users have reported suffering Crestor cardiomyopathy side effects, the manufacturer has failed to adequately research the potential risk of this condition or other heart problems. As a result, users who have been diagnosed with a heart attack, heart disease or cardiomyopathy after Crestor use may be entitled to financial compensation because of the manufacturer’s failure to properly warn about this potential risk. High dose use of Crestor has also been linked to a potential risk of developing diabetes, with several studies identifying a potential Crestor diabetes risk that may not have been adequately disclosed or warned about by the drug maker.