USA TODAY - Vytorin doesn't prevent deadly hardening of heart valve
The blockbuster cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin failed to slow age-related hardening of the heart valve that without surgery can lead to heart attack, stroke or death, doctors said Monday.
Vytorin worked no better than a placebo at blocking aortic stenosis, which leads to 95,000 valve-replacement operations and 25,000 deaths in the USA each year, says lead investigator Terje Pedersen of Ulleval University Hospital in Olso.
“We can conclude it will not affect the course of aortic stenosis,” Pedersen says.
The study was designed to determine whether reducing a major risk factor for aortic stenosis, the buildup of plaque in arteries supplying the heart, might prevent valve damage. Within five years of diagnosis, most patients require surgery, develop heart failure or die.
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But the study did not answer the most important question: whether Vytorin prevents heart attacks, strokes and deaths in patients who have coronary artery disease. …
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