| Journalists:
please note that all presentations are embargoed until the
time of their actual presentation at the Late-Breaking Clinical
Trial (LBCT) sessions or ACC press conference, whichever comes
first. The date and time of each official presentation at
an LBCT session is provided at the end of each trial topic
description.
Highlights
from: Effect of Statins in Fighting Heart Failure
MONDAY,
MARCH 7, 2005
12:00
p.m.-1:00 p.m.
Studies shed
light on how statins work, and in which patients
(ORLANDO, Fla.)—Studies being presented
at the American College of Cardiology’s 54th Annual
Scientific Session in Orlando, Fla., March 6-9, 2005, offer
new insight into the clinical benefits of statins, medications
that not only reduce blood cholesterol levels but also have
anti-inflammatory and other effects.
According to two new studies, statins may improve
survival in patients with heart failure, a condition marked
by the heart’s inability to pump blood effectively and,
in some cases, a back-up of fluid into the lungs. An analysis
of data from more than 32,000 U.S. veterans with heart failure
showed that those who were taking statins had a 10 percent
lower risk of death when compared to those not taking statins
(Sathya Jaganmohan, #851-7). (Original presentation on Tuesday,
March 8, at 3:00 p.m.)
A separate analysis focused on patients in
the Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing and Defibrillation
in Chronic Heart Failure (COMPANION) trial, which earlier
showed an improvement in survival with cardiac resynchronization
therapy (CRT) in patients with severe heart failure (Andrew
D. Sumner, #851-8). In the new study, researchers evaluated
the influence of statin therapy on survival, statistically
eliminating any bias from the patient’s other health
problems or treatment with a CRT pacemaker. They found that
statins reduced the risk of death by 28 percent. (Original
presentation on Tuesday, March 8, at 3:15 p.m.)
In high-risk heart patients, intensive statin
therapy is significantly more effective than standard-dose
therapy in reducing a key marker of inflammation and cardiovascular
risk (Kausik K. Ray, #850-3). The study focused on patients
in the Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection
Therapy (PROVE IT TIMI-22) trial.
All patients had a history of acute coronary
syndrome, a condition that encompasses both unstable chest
pain and one type of heart attack.
Researchers evaluated the effect of statin
dose on blood levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive
protein (CRP). They found that intensive statin therapy was
more effective in reducing CRP levels in patients with a variety
of high-risk characteristics including being over age 65,
female gender, obesity, smoking, diabetes, high blood glucose
levels and low blood levels of high-density-lipoprotein (HDL),
or “good,” cholesterol. (Original presentation
on Tuesday, March 8, at 2:00 p.m.)
The more effective statins are in lowering
blood levels of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad,”
cholesterol, the more effective they are in improving arterial
function, according to new data (Robert A. Vogel, #831-6).
In a substudy of the Reversal of Atherosclerosis with Aggressive
Lipid Lowering (REVERSAL) trial, researchers evaluated how
well arteries in the arm expanded in response to increased
blood flow before and three months after patients began treatment
with atorvastatin or pravastatin. They found that both drugs
improved arterial function—atorvastatin more so than
pravastatin—and that the improvement was closely correlated
with the degree of the reduction in LDL cholesterol levels.
(Original presentation on Tuesday, March 8, at 9:15 a.m.)
Small genetic variations can have a significant
impact on cholesterol metabolism, according to analysis of
data from patients enrolled in the Cholesterol and Recurrent
Events (CARE) Trial (Marc S. Sabatine, #1001-113). In the
main CARE trial, patients were randomly assigned to treatment
with pravastatin or to placebo. In the new study, researchers
tested blood samples from each patient for the genes coding
for particles that transport cholesterol in the blood and
enzymes that participate in cholesterol metabolism. They found
that the response to pravastatin varied among patients with
different genetic coding. (Original presentation on Sunday,
March 6, at a 12:30-1:30 p.m. poster session.)
Moderator: TBD
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