A cholesterol-lowering statin drug given to people with normal cholesterol can reduce their risk of stroke, heart attacks and death by almost 50 percent, a large study showed.

In a clinical trial involving 18,000 patients in 26 countries, AstraZeneca's cholesterol fighter Crestor (chemically known as rosuvastatin), proved to be effective in cutting heart attack, stroke, need for bypass or angioplasty procedures, as well as cardiovascular death by an astonishing 45% over less than 24 months.

All participants in the study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, had very good cholesterol levels, with average Low-density lipoprotein (LDL or bad cholesterol) levels of 108 and average high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) levels of 49.

Nonetheless, each participant had elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), a phase protein produced by the liver and by adipocytes that points to an inflammation in the body and can be a factor in the development of coronary heart disease, a major cause of disability and death.

"If your high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) is high, you should be on statin therapy regardless of your cholesterol level. This is an approach we can start using tomorrow," said Dr. James Willerson, director of the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

Because people who took Crestor were also almost 50 percent less likely to suffer a stroke, need angioplasty or bypass surgery, and were about 20 percent less likely to pass away, after less than 2 years an independent safety monitoring board halted the trial of the statin drug which was supposed to last 5 years, researchers said on Sunday.