The alarming increase in cholesterol levels among millions of Americans has been one of the fastest-growing health issues of the preceding ten years. Pharmaceutical companies started creating drugs that were intended to assist lower these cholesterol levels and lessen the risks that persons with this illness faced due to the developing public health problem.
AstraZeneca, a global pharmaceutical powerhouse, produces Crestor, one of the most popular drugs in this area.
Unfortunately, tales of hazardous Crestor side effects ultimately started to surface, alarming many individuals across the nation.
You can read more about Crestor’s characteristics, its use throughout history, the specifics of the lawsuits that have since been filed against it, the general reaction to these reports of side effects, and finally, what you should do if you or a loved one has been harmed by the drug and needs the assistance of knowledgeable Crestor attorneys.
A Quick Overview of Crestor
An estimated 4.5 million people in the United States are believed to have used Crestor since the FDA first approved it for sale and distribution in the country in 2003. AstraZeneca improved its market penetration with a massive advertising campaign that included national television, radio, and the Internet and brought in significant profits for the business.
Crestor is a prescription-only medication that lowers levels of LDL, sometimes known as “bad” cholesterol, which can cause major heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. This occurs due to Crestor permeating the liver.
Many people also believed Crestor to be one of the key factors that helped patients who used it avoid having heart bypass surgery, frequently required to eliminate plaque that accumulates in the heart’s arteries due to high cholesterol levels.
Dangers Regarding Crestor
Astra-Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical conglomerate, makes Crestor (rosuvastatin), a medication created, tested, and approved for use in 2003. Since then, 154 nations have authorized the sale of the medication.
Unfortunately, FDA approval did not guarantee that the medication was risk-free for everyone; certain people are susceptible to rhabdomyolysis, a disorder in which the body’s skeletal muscle tissue degrades rapidly and causes kidney failure and other issues.
In 2008, studies found that some people who took Crestor had lower stroke and heart attack rates, prompting worries that the medicine might be overprescribed for its preventative effects and putting even more patients at risk for the potentially fatal Crestor myopathy side effect.
Crestor Side Effects
Crestor was sadly only available for a brief time before tales of patients developing serious Crestor side effects started to circulate. Below is a description of each ailment connected to the usage of Crestor. These side effects were widespread enough in diverse patients that the general public started to pay at least some attention.
Rhabdomyolysis
When a patient has rhabdomyolysis, which is a very uncommon illness, the patient feels agony as the muscle fibers degrade. Myoglobin, a chemical that aids in forming these muscle fibers, is released into the patient’s circulatory system when this degradation occurs. This chemical will eventually reach the kidneys, where it can cause severe damage.
Some individuals may require surgery or even more drastic measures to stop the process.
Continual Bleeding
Other Crestor users reported experiencing continuous bleeding that became so bad that they needed medical attention to stop it. It took a while for doctors to realize that Crestor use was the common denominator in all of these cases.
Chronic Kidney Failure
Still, some Crestor users endured only the symptoms of acute renal failure. When the kidneys fail, a serious situation arises right away. Removing a kidney, renal dialysis treatment, and other drastic measures are among the corrective measures that must be taken right away to prevent the risk of death.
Typical Signs of Risky Crestor Side Effects
Anyone taking Crestor who sees any symptoms or irregularities should immediately contact a doctor.
Below are some instances of symptoms that Crestor side effects patients who had encountered them have reported having experienced. Some medications cause new and distinct side effects for years with different symptoms.
- Fever
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Persistent bleeding
- Muscle weakness
- Muscle tremors
- General weariness
If you’ve been using Crestor and noticed any of these symptoms, don’t waste any time in seeing a doctor immediately. The sooner these issues are addressed, the more likely they won’t result in long-term harm.
FDA Claims Crestor Ads Misled the Public
Public Citizen, a group that advocates for consumers, asked the American Food and Drug Administration in 2004 to recall Crestor due to safety issues. AstraZeneca ran full-page newspaper advertising defending the medication that December.
The FDA said that the advertisements understated Crestor’s hazards and made untrue or deceptive statements about how superior the medication was to alternative treatments.
Consumer-targeted advertisements compared Crestor to other statin-class cholesterol-lowering medications. Results from a 2003 STELLAR research that examined four statins served as the foundation for the comparison. Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol, and Zocor were the statins.
The FDA deemed the comparison to be inaccurate and the advertisements to be deceptive. For instance, Crestor and Lipitor have 40 mg and 80 mg dosages, respectively. However, the advertisements contrasted Crestor 40 mg with Lipitor 80 mg.
The FDA urged AstraZeneca to stop advertising the ads. The Public Citizen petition to recall Crestor was also turned down by the agency at the same time.
Crestor Sales and Free Meals, According to Researchers
A 2016 JAMA Internal Medicine study examined the strategies used by pharmaceutical corporations to convince doctors to issue more prescriptions for their goods. One of the four medicines that the researchers followed was Crestor.
Researchers studied 63,524 payments from pharmaceutical corporations made to 279,669 clinicians. Free meals increased the likelihood that doctors would recommend the pitching prescription over a rival medication. The doctors’ relative prescribing rates grew together with the number of meals or the value of those meals.
The study found that doctors were more inclined to recommend Crestor over other statins after receiving a single meal promoting it. According to the report, Crestor is the third most expensive drug in Medicare Part D, with $2.2 billion in annual federal spending. Nexium and Advair Diskus were the two medications with the two higher prices.
What You Must Learn Before Making a Crestor Claim
Patients who have taken Crestor and experienced side effects have legal recourse; they can bring a civil case to recover damages for their injuries, all related expenses, and even agony and suffering. Many people use this method to gain financial recompense and send a message to large pharmaceutical companies that try to take advantage of their clients’ priceless health.
Do I Need a Class Action Attorney?
The FDA chose to respond to allegations of Crestor’s adverse effects in 2009 after vigorous agitation from numerous consumer advocacy groups. The organization published a public health advisory outlining the possible dangers of Crestor.
The drug is still available right now.
However, this does not imply that there is no way to bring those who have suffered due to using Crestor to justice.
If you started experiencing health issues after taking Crestor, consult a doctor. Additionally, speak with a local class action lawyer in your area who can help and assist you in defending your legal rights and recovering damages for your injuries.
