Cholesterol-lowering statins such as lipitor , crestor and zocor are the most widely prescribed medications in the world , and they are credited with saving the lives of many heart disease patients .
No question , statins -- which include lipitor ( atorvastatin ) , zocor ( simvastatin ) , and crestor ( rosuvastatin ) -- are relatively safe drugs , and they 've saved thousands of lives over the past 20 years , particularly in men with established heart disease .
Earlier this year , pfizer issued a press release trumpeting an analysis that suggested the company 's cholesterol-lowering drug lipitor helped patients more than simvastatin , a cheaper generic competitor originally sold by merck as zocor .
