Although it is routinely prescribed by doctors to help people of both sexes cut their risk of heart attack and stroke, Lipitor does not seem to be effective for women, new research claims.
A study published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies analyzed a large body of research pertaining to the drug which brings in $12 billion per year in sales and determined that women who take it may be wasting their time and money.
They concluded that despite its makers claims that Lipitor benefits patients of both genders with multiple risk factors for heart disease, there was no evidence that females received added protection from this medication.
“Each year, reasonably healthy women spend billions of dollars on drugs in the hope of preventing heart attacks but that scientific evidence supporting their hope does not exist,” the authors write.
Statins such as Lipitor are often prescribed for people who have high cholesterol defined as a total cholesterol level of at least 240 mg/dL or an LDL (“bad”) cholesterol level of at least 130 mg/dL.
There are many natural ways of helping to lower cholesterol. For example, research has found that consuming green tea extract can be beneficial for reducing levels of bad cholesterol.