title: Addressing the challenge.
abstract: Patients with hypercholesterolaemia are at an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Lowering elevated cholesterol levels has been shown to reduce effectively the risk of coronary events. Atorvastatin, a recently introduced statin, produces pronounced lipid-lowering via inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. For example, atorvastatin 10-80 mg.day-1 reduces low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) from baseline by 41-61% in a dose-dependent manner. Atorvastatin also lowers triglyceride levels by 23-45% over the same dose range. While sharing a common mechanism of action with other statins, atorvastatin leads to greater decreases in LDL-C, total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and triglyceride levels than other statins. In the CURVES study, atorvastatin 10-40 mg.day-1 produced greater reductions in LDL-C than milligram equivalent doses of comparator statins. Studies have also shown that relatively more patients treated with atorvastatin achieve LDL-C treatment goals, and at a lower overall cost, than those treated with other statins. A further advantage of this enhanced efficacy is that atorvastatin shares a safety profile similar to that of the other statins. The efficacy and safety of atorvastatin has been demonstrated in a range of patient subgroups. A comprehensive ongoing clinical programme for atorvastatin includes morbidity and mortality studies.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Centre, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Olsson
mesh_terms: D000069059:Atorvastatin; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D006538:Heptanoic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D011758:Pyrroles / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D006538:Heptanoic Acids; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D000960:Hypolipidemic Agents; D008055:Lipids; D011758:Pyrroles; D000069059:Atorvastatin