Statins, you know Lipitor, Crestor, etc, continue to show they have new uses. Kind of a wonder drug just like baby aspirin!

Researchers have found they appear to reduce the risk of death in patients hospitalized with the flu. In a study of 3,043 men and women hospitalized with the flu, 151 died within 30 days of testing positive for influenza. However, after controlling for race, sex, underlying disease and flu vaccination status, researchers found that those who were taking statins had a 41% reduced risk of death compared to those not taking statins.

Investigators are uncertain as to why statins have a protective effect.

So if you are on one of these medications, take heart (pun intended) in knowing they are doing double-duty. And if your physician has advised you to start taking cholesterol medicine and you have hesitated, well maybe it's time to have another conversation with your doc.