Study: Cholesterol drug Crestor also cuts blood clot risk

Corrected Version

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A major new study suggests statin drugs taken to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease can also cut the risk of developing dangerous blood clots.

Doctors say the study's results provide a reason for people with normal cholesterol to consider taking medicines like Crestor, Lipitor and Zocor, or their generic equivalents.

Results of the study are being reported at the American College of Cardiology conference today and published online by the New England Journal of Medicine. They show Crestor cut the risk of clots nearly in half for test subjects with low cholesterol but high scores on tests for inflammation.

Blood clots that lodge in the legs or lungs lead to about 100,000 deaths each year in the U.S.

Last fall, it was reported that Crestor dramatically lowered the rate of heart attacks, death and stroke in people who are not usually given statins.

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