WOSCOP
The West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Trial
6595 middle-aged men (age 45-64) with a mean cholesterol of 7.0 +/- 0.6 mmol were randomised to pravastatin 40 mg per day or placebo.
The average follow-up was 4.9 years.
Pravastatin altered serum lipids in the following manner:
serum cholesterol was reduced by 20%
serum LDL cholesterol was reduced by 26%
The relative risks in the pravastatin group reduced by:
31% for coronary events
31% for non-fatal myocardial infarction
28% for death from definite coronary artery disease
reduction in total mortality by 22%
There was no significant excess in non-cardiovascular deaths in the pravastatin group.
Calculated - treating 1000 patients for 5 years - saves 7 deaths from CHD and 20 non-fatal MIs (1)
Primary prevention with pravastatin for 5 years continued to prevent coronary events in the following 10 years (2):
in this analysis, 5 years of treatment with pravastatin was associated with a significant reduction in coronary events for a subsequent 10 years in men with hypercholesterolemia who did not have a history of myocardial infarction
Reference:
(1) Shepherd, J. et al. (1995). Prevention of coronary heart disease with pravastatin in men with hypercholesterolemia. New Engl J Med. 333, 1301-7.
(2) Ford I et al. Long-term follow-up of the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study.N Engl J Med. 2007 Oct 11;357(15):1477-86
