BUENA VISTA, Fla., March 2 (UPI) -- Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor significantly cut the risk of heart attacks and stroke compared with simvastatin, says a U.S. analysis.
According to retrospective analysis of 80,000 patients drawn from a U.S. managed-care database, patients taking Lipitor achieved a 14-percent reduction in the risk of serious cardiovascular events compared with patients taking simvastatin, even after dose adjustments, researchers said.
Pfizer said doctors and health plans are switching patients off Lipitor to "what is believed to be comparable LDL-lowering doses of statins and assuming that this will result in similar cardiovascular benefits."
"This study is significant because it calls into question whether statins should be prescribed interchangeably through simple dose adjustments," said Michael Berelowitz, senior vice president of Pfizer's global medical division.
Study author Robert Vogel, commenting on the results, said, "This analysis is important for physicians, employers and formulary directors at managed care companies who are making real-world treatment decisions for patients. This further supports the cardiovascular benefits previously seen with Lipitor."
The analysis confirms an earlier review of a general-practice database of about 3,500 patients in the Netherlands, the researchers said.
The data were presented at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.
