Heart Protection Study Reveals Promising Results of Statin Therapy

Risk of heart attack and stroke was reduced by at least one-third in both high-risk and lower-risk individuals taking an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin) in the largest cholesterol-lowering study ever conducted. Oxford University's Rory Collins, MB, BS, the lead researcher of the Heart Protection Study (HPS), said that these dramatic results have "massive public health implications. We've found that cholesterol-lowering treatment can protect a far wider range of people than was previously thought."
    Antonio Gotto, Jr, MD, DPhil, chairman of the National Lipid Education Council, concurred, "The Heart Protection Study has important implications for the optimal management of patients with a broad range of high-risk profiles. These results will surely influence how we'll treat coronary risk in the future."
    With 20,536 participants, the study found that treatment with 40-mg simvastatin reduces this risk not only in individuals with increased lipid levels, but also in those with normal or low cholesterol levels who either have existing heart disease or are at high risk for it. The HPS also confirmed the benefit of statins in women, diabetics, and the elderly (over age 70). As for adverse events, there were no differences between the statin and placebo groups in both muscle effects and liver enzyme elevation (creatinine kinase >10x ULN: 0.09% for statin vs 0.05% for placebo; ALT >3x ULN: 0.8% for statin vs 0.6% for placebo).
    Released during the American Heart Association's 74th Scientific Sessions, the HPS showed that statin use meant:

	reduction in arterial surgeries, angioplasties, and amputations
	reduction in hospitalizations due to worsening angina
	increase in benefits with prolonged therapy
	5 years of statin treatment prevents MIs, strokes, or other vascular events in: • 100 of 1,000 people with previous MI • 80 of 1,000 people with evidence of CHD, including angina • 70 of 1,000 previous stroke patients • 70 of 1,000 people with occlusive arterial disease • 70 of 1,000 people with diabetes