Cholesterol Drug fails to Protect against Heart Disease

A massive trial of the cholesterol drug Niaspan that was conducted by the National Institutes of Health has revealed that the drug fails to protect patients against heart disease. This disturbing revelation has also prompted the National Institutes of Health to truncate the study 18 months before the deadline.

The belief that good cholesterols in the body protect individuals from coronary diseases such as heart attacks was the basis of recommending Niaspan to patients. Hence a mixture of cholesterol cutting statin drugs with HDL boosting vitamin Niaspan was given to people to increase their chances of a disease free life. However, the study which monitored 3414 people revealed that even a high dose combination of statin drugs and Niaspan failed to protect against cardiovascular diseases such as stroke. In fact the high dose of this cholesterol drug has no extended effect on the statin therapy. Niaspan is also sold in India under brand names such as Nialip from Dr. Reddy’s Lab and Nicinal from Cipla.

Millions of people around the globe require cholesterol drugs to keep their high cholesterol in check. This study that claims that the cholesterol drug Niaspan fails to protect against heart disease will be a disappointment in the field of understanding heart health better.