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CHOLESTEROL BUSTERDrug That Cuts The Risk Of A Heart Attack To Be Sold Over The Counter A drug, which could prevent thousands of people dying of a heart attack, is to be put on sale over the counter. Around 124,000 Britons die every year from heart disease – 60,000 from heart attacks. Experts say that the drug simvistatin – known by its brand name Zocor, and currently available only on prescription – can cut the risk of a heart attack by a third. In an attempt to reduce the death toll from Britain’s biggest killer, the Government is proposing to make the cholesterol-lowering drug more freely available. Blocked arteries, caused by high levels of blood fats, are a major risk factor for heart attacks. More than a million people are prescribed fat-lowering drugs called statins by their GP or heart specialist, but health ministers believe thousands of lives could be saved if more people had access to them. Making the statin Zocor available without prescription in pharmacies is seen as the best way of reaching people who are currently at risk but not on the medication. Many of them are middle aged and have weight problems, which exacerbate levels of harmful fats circulating in their blood. The reclassification of statins will offer greater responsibility to pharmacists, who expect to be able to hand out the pills in 2004. One pharmacy source said “This is the final hurdle but the process of approval is already well down the line. Pharmacists have been pushing for this for some time”. The move is the most significant shake-up of medicine licensing since the morning after pill was approved for sale over the counter in 2000. It is not yet known how much statins will cost, but the price to the NHS of a month’s supply is around £30, or £1 per day. Sources suggest the drug will be ‘affordably’ priced. Pharmacists will be expected to question patients on heart attack risk factors such as age, smoking and exercise levels. Statins work by altering the action of an enzyme in the liver, which is responsible for the production of cholesterol. Drug manufacturer Johnson and Johnson MSD is the first to apply for a licence to bring its product Zocor off prescription, but firms producing other statins are expected to follow. The British Heart Foundation welcomed this move but warned that there were still key details to be thrashed out. The Foundation recommends anyone who is concerned about his or her cholesterol levels or their risk of coronary heart disease to discuss this with their GP. |
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