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Relation Between CHD Events and LDL-C in Recent Statin Trials
  • Recent trials of the statins, which have included data from 30,817 patients in total, have demonstrated a near linear relation between LDL-C levels and CHD events.
  • Data from primary-prevention studies (WOSCOPS) and secondary-prevention studies (CARE, 4S) demonstrate that lowering LDL-C levels results in fewer CHD events.
  • Data from two very recent trials, the Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Prevention Study (AFCAPS/TexCAPS, primary prevention) and the Long-Term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischemic Disease (LIPID, secondary prevention) study showed similar beneficial results of statin treatment on reducing CHD risk in patients with average lipid levels.
  • Two major conclusions can be drawn from these groundbreaking trials:
  • reducing LDL-C levels decreases the number of CHD events, with no significant increase in noncardiovascular death rate (all-cause mortality rate).
  • the benefits of LDL-C reduction can be extended to a population that includes those with and without CHD who have average cholesterol levels.

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