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| |  Study Shows Zocor Reduces Risk Of Stroke WHITEHOUSE STATION, NJ -- February 2, 1998 -- Treatment with the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor(simvastatin) reduced stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIA or mini-stroke) by nearly one-third in people with coronary heart disease, according to a recent analysis of the landmark Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) published today in the American Journal of Cardiology. While 4S firmly established that lowering cholesterol with simvastatin reduced the risk of heart attacks and death, it was only recently determined that Zocor therapy also substantially reduced the risk of stroke, the third leading cause of death in the world. The new subanalysis presents clinical evidence that Zocor has a positive benefit on arteries throughout the body, thereby preventing both heart attack and stroke The subanalysis of the trial, involving 4,444 men and women aged 35 to 70 with high cholesterol (between 212 and 309 mg/dl or 5.5 and 8.0 mmol/l) and coronary heart disease (CHD), demonstrated that Zocor reduced occurrence of fatal or non-fatal stroke/TIA by 28 percent; development of new or worsened chest pain -- known as angina pectoris – by 26 percent. Angina, which is caused by an insufficient supply of oxygenated blood to the heart, is considered a warning sign of impending heart attack. The drug was also shown to reduce the development of new or worsened signs and symptoms of reduced blood flow in the legs -- a painful condition known as claudication -- by 38 percent. Claudication is caused by a narrowing of the arteries in the leg resulting from an accumulation of cholesterol plaque, or fat deposits and often occurs in smokers. These benefits are in addition to the primary findings of 4S that showed treatment with Zocor reduced death from heart disease by 42 percent, resulting in 30 percent fewer deaths from any cause over more than five years. The study was conducted at 94 clinical centers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. "While substantial reductions in the risk of coronary and overall risk of death have been widely reported and recognised by physicians, the possibility that lowering cholesterol could have beneficial effects on atherosclerotic diseases other than CHD, such as stroke, has received little attention from the medical community", said Terje R. Pedersen, M.D., Ph.D., head physician of the coronary care unit at Aker University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, principal investigator for the 4S trial and the lead author of the subanalysis. "These latest data from 4S demonstrate that lipids are a risk factor in all types of atherosclerosis, and that atherosclerotic symptoms and progression can be slowed by lipid-lowering therapy with Zocor," Dr. Pedersen added. "Physicians should consider that peripheral artery diseases that may lead to stroke are not simply the result of aging, but are also caused by elevated lipid levels that require therapeutic intervention." He noted that patients with peripheral artery disease are also at increased risk of heart attacks. Findings like these and other recent advances in the prevention and treatment of stroke have prompted the National Stroke Association in the U.S. to update guidelines for the prevention of stroke. Updated consumer guidelines will be released in March, while new professional guidelines are scheduled for release later this year. Similarly, the new clinical information may lead to revisions in guidelines for the prevention of stroke in other parts of the world. As part of a continuing initiative begun in 1993, the World Health Organization has hosted a series of consensus meetings around the world aimed at raising public and professional awareness of stroke as a public health issue. Beyond high cholesterol, additional risk factors for stroke include high blood pressure, heart disease, smoking and obesity. Despite the advances in screening and treatment of high blood pressure, a leading cause of stroke, stroke or brain attack is the third-leading cause of death in the world. It accounts for 4.6 million deaths worldwide each year. About one-third of stroke patients die within six months of the event and many survivors are severely disabled. For example, on average, someone suffers a stroke in the U.S. every minute and someone dies of stroke every 3.4 minutes. For those who survive, stroke is the leading cause of adult disability, according to the World Health Organization. It currently affects approximately 30 million people worldwide. These impairments impact not only stroke patients, but also their families and caregivers. The Framingham Study, for example, found that after suffering a stroke, 31 percent of patients require assistance, 20 percent need help walking and 71 percent are vocationally impaired after seven years. Stroke costs in the U.S. alone exceed $30 billion annually in just healthcare costs and lost productivity. In economic terms, the overall cost of stroke, heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases is expected to reach more than $274 billion in the U.S. in 1998, factoring in the cost of care provided by healthcare professionals, hospital and nursing home services, rehabilitation, medication and home heath care. Stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by either a blocked or burst artery. The interruption deprives the brain of blood and oxygen, causing brain cells to die. Ischemic stroke, the most common form, occurs when a vessel bringing oxygen and nutrients to the brain -- often the carotid artery in the neck -- is blocked by a blood clot. More than 70 percent of strokes are the result of either a clot -- exacerbated by atherosclerosis -- which decreases blood flow to the brain, or a fragment of a clot that breaks loose, travels up the carotid artery and lodges in a smaller brain vessel. Deprived of oxygen, nerve cells in the affected area can't function and die within minutes. When brain cells dies, functioning of the body parts they control is impaired or lost, causing paralysis, speech problems, memory and reasoning deficits, coma and possibly death. More information on: Zocor
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