Cholesterol drug approved for diabetics

Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday U.S. regulators have approved its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack in diabetic patients.

Pfizer said the approval is for patients with type 2, or adult onset, diabetes who have no signs of heart disease but with other risk factors for the condition.

Pfizer said Lipitor also received approval to reduce the risk of stroke in people without evidence of heart disease but with multiple risk factors other than diabetes.

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Common risk factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, a family history of heart disease, smoking and obesity.

With the approvals, even diabetic patients with normal levels of LDL or “bad” cholesterol need only one other risk factor for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, to benefit from the drug, Pfizer said.

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The approvals were based on two large studies showing the drug reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke in diabetic patients.

More than 18 million Americans have diabetes, which is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Medical experts estimate that between one-quarter and one-third of diabetics have symptoms of cardiovascular disease and patients with diabetes have a much higher risk of dying from heart disease than other people.