Zocor in the treatment of atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis and its main complications (heart attack, stroke) continue to be ahead in the structure of morbidity and mortality among population in the Western Europe.

Economic waste of European countries caused by cardiovascular diseases reached 169 billions of EURO. At the scientific session of the American College of Cardiology It was shown that the direct losses of the world community from the cardiovascular diseases counts more than 400 billions a year. Every 26 seconds heart attack take place and every 40 seconds 1 stroke happen.

Zocor is one of the most prescribed effective, safe and reliable statins. Extensive multicenter clinical study conducted in accordance with strict modern standards have proven the effectiveness of Zocor (simvastatin) not only in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases, but also in patients with diabetes and dyslipidemia. There are good reasons to talk about the significant relevant of statins on the links in the pathogenesis of certain rheumatic diseases.

Although simvastatin is not the first synthetic statin, the most high-profile evidence of the effectiveness of this drug group - statins in the treatment of cardiovascular disease were obtained from the results of clinical investigations of Zocor. For the last 10 years Zocor became of the post prescribed and studied cholesterol medication. The clinical investigations showed that regular application of Zocor can significantly help to reduce the number of hospitalization caused by heart attacks and Zocor is a cholesterol-lowering drug.

Your doctor may prescribe Zocor in addition to a cholesterol-lowering diet if your blood cholesterol level is too high, and if you have been unable to lower it by diet alone. For people at high risk of heart disease, current guidelines call for considering drug therapy when LDL levels reach 130. For people at lower risk, the cut-off is 160. For those at little or no risk, it's 190. In people with high cholesterol and heart disease, Zocor reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, and "mini-stroke" (transient ischemic attack) and can stave off the need for bypass surgery or angioplasty to clear clogged arteries. Zocor can also reduce these risks in people with diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and a history of stroke.

Zocor is part of a class of drugs called statins. It works by blocking a particular enzyme, HMG-CoA reductase, that controls the rate of cholesterol production in the body. This causes the liver to make less cholesterol. The drug also:

• Increases the liver's ability to collect and get rid of LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol)
• Increases HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol)
• Decreases triglycerides.

In mid-2006, Zocor came off patent and became available in generic form. Generic Zocor is sold under the name Simvastatin tablets. Generic Zocor is manufactured by some pharmaceutical companies like Biotec, Unix, IVAX and Ranbaxy.