RIYADH, 11 May 2005 — The Kingdom has the highest number of patients suffering from high cholesterol in the Gulf region.

“This is mainly because of the lifestyle of the people where they eat lot of fatty food and do little exercise to burn off the calories,” Dr. Mohammed R. Arafah, president of the Saudi Heart Association and head of Cardiology Department at the King Saud University, told cardiologists at the launch of Crestor, a drug that reduces the cholesterol level of patients, at the Four Seasons Hotel here recently.

Crestor is effectively used worldwide and has proved successful in reducing the LDL-cholesterol by up to 60 percent. Some 4.4 million people die every year due to complications caused by high cholesterol levels. Currently, the drug is used by 4.5 million patients in the world, while 20 million prescriptions have been written for Crestor.

Dr. Arafah pointed out that there is a great need for people to know more about cardiac diseases since 28 percent of the population in the Kingdom is suffering from some form of ailment due to high cholesterol. He added that 5.5 percent among the age group of 35 to 70 were patients getting treatment for cardiac diseases. The cardiologist said that all the cardiac centers in the Kingdom are full with patients waiting for bypass surgery.

Advising prevention is better than cure, he pointed out that most of these chronic ailments could be prevented by modification of life styles and early medications to prevent further complications.

Speaking about the new drug, Dr. Arafah said it has proved effective in reducing the bad cholesterol level and also increasing the level of good cholesterol in blood. He emphasized that medication for cholesterol should be used in consultation with a physician.

Consultant Cardiologist at the American Hospital in Dubai, Dr. Emad Dodin, said Crestor has shown beneficial effects in lowering the LDL cholesterol by 60 percent with adverse events usually mild and transient as with all statins. “It is well tolerated with a lower rate of withdrawals due to adverse effects.” He added that a patient could see improvement in his cholesterol level within four weeks of starting the medicine.