This article will explain exactly what Zocor is, and how it can benefit you.

Zocor - What is It?

The approved cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor (simvastatin) was recently approved by FDA for a new use - reducing deaths and preventing heart attacks in people with heart disease and high cholesterol. It is the first cholesterol-lowering drug approved for this use.

Marketing with the new use was approved by FDA las June. Zocor was first approved in 1988 as an adjunct to diet to reduce elevated total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with high cholesterol. Other drugs in its class include Lescol (fluvastatin), (Mevacor (lovastatin), and Pravachol (provastatin).

Approval of the new use was based on results of the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study, also known as the 4S study. The study assessed 4,444 patients with coronary heart disease and cholesterol levels of 212 to 309 milligrams per deciliter of blood over an average of 5.4 years. Zocor reduced overall deaths by 30 percent. Specifically, the drug reduced coronary heart disease deaths by 42 percent and reduced the occurrence of hospital-verified, nonfatal heart attacks by 37 percent.

Side effects associated with Zocor were generally mild and included: headache, abdominal pain, constipation, flatulence, and diarrhea.

Zocor is manufactured by Merck & Co. Inc., Whitehouse Station, N.J.

(For more information on cholesterol, see "Lowering Cholesterol," in the March 1994 FDA Consumer.)