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News, opinions and meeting coverage in cardiology.

Ending Statins May Not End Associated Muscle Pains

Patients experiencing muscle pain and weakness as a result of statin treatment may continue to suffer symptoms long after stopping the drugs, French researchers reported.

Hidden Dangers of Herbal Meds Reviewed

Herbal medicines are not always the harmless nostrums that many patients and even some physicians think, but may actually contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, researchers warned.

Abnormal Lipid Levels Common in Teens

One in five American adolescents has unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels, suggesting that targeted screening of youths would be a good idea, CDC researchers said.

ESC: Peto Analysis Called Short on Proof of Simvastatin/ Ezetimibe Cancer Safety

SEATTLE -- Simvastatin/ezetimibe (Vytorin) may increase the risk of cancer after all, concluded a leading American biostatistician who dismissed as prematurely reassuring an analysis by Richard Peto, Ph.D., F.R.S., that found the link with excess malignancy to be overblown.

AHA: Some Statins May Disrupt Sleep

ORLANDO -- If patients taking simvastatin (Zocor) develop sleep disturbances, changing statins may be a good idea, researchers suggested here.

FDA Warns Against Use of Red Yeast Rice Supplements

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The FDA has warned consumers against using three brands of red yeast rice, a product marketed as a natural remedy for high cholesterol, because they may contain lovastatin, the active ingredient in Mevacor.

Plant Sterols Added to Orange Juice May Do the Heart Good

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Plant sterols added to orange juice can significantly reduce markers of cardiovascular risk, researchers here reported.

Crestor Called Less Safe Than Other Statins

BOSTON-Adverse event reports from the FDA suggest that Crestor is more likely to cause muscle and kidney damage than other major statins (Lipitor, Pravachol or Zocor), researchers here reported in the journal Circulation.

ACC: LDL Cholesterol of Less than 80 mg/dL Reduces Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

ORLANDO-Cardiologists report that aggressive cholesterol-lowering to new super low target levels of LDL is associated with a 22% reduction in risk of heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest and death from heart disease for patients with stable coronary disease. The reduction to a mean of 77 mg/dL compared with standard cholesterol-lowering therapy that aims to reduce LDL to about 100 mg/dL. In addition, stroke risk was reduced by 25% compared with risk in patients treated to the recommended target of 100 mg/dL.

Fiber Supplement Equivalent to Doubling the Dose of Statin

Three servings of psyllium (Metamucil) per day reduced the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels of patients on a statin drug by an additional 6%, roughly the same reduction achieved by doubling the statin dose, according to research presented at the American Heart Association 2004 Scientific Sessions.