Study results show Lipitor helps reduce rate of heart-health emergencies

NEW YORK Results of an observational study indicate that patients taking Pfizer’s Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) had a 13 percent reduction in the relative risk of heart-related emergencies compared to Merck’s Zocor (simvastatin), drug maker Pfizer said Wednesday.

The study, published in the December issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, was based on the managed care claims of patients between 18 and 64. The patients had recently begun using the drugs, had not used statins before and did not have evident cardiovascular disease. The average doses in the study were 29 mg of Zocor and 17 mg of Lipitor. It did not find any significant difference among patients with the secondary endpoints of stroke, revascularization surgery or peripheral vascular disease.

“Observational data such as this, which reflect the use of medicines in real-world clinical practice rather than in a controlled trial setting, mayhelp healthcare providers and managed care companies improve clinical outcomes for patients,” Emory University medicine professor and director of the health promotion and disease prevention office at Grady Health Systems Terry Jacobson said in a statement.

The study analyzed claims for statin prescriptions filed between January 2003 and December 2005 by patients having their first inpatient or emergency room admission for heart disease, heart attack, chest pain, certain heart surgeries, peripheral vascular disease, swelling of the aorta, stroke and transient ischemic attack.