CDC reports statin use up 156 percent

WASHINGTON The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported Wednesday that the use of statins, a type of drug that lowers cholesterol, increased by 156 percent between 2000 and 2005.

Statins work by raising levels of “good” cholesterol while lowering “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides, thereby reducing risks of heart attack and stroke.

Outpatient prescriptions for the drugs increased from 90 million in 2000 to almost 174 million in 2005, while spending for them increased from $7.7 billion to $19.7 billion over the same period.

Statin brands include Pfizer’s Lipitor (atorvastatin), Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Pravachol (pravastatin) and Novartis’ Lescol (fluvastatin).