title: Beneficial impact of Xuezhikang on cardiovascular events and mortality in elderly hypertensive patients with previous myocardial infarction from the China Coronary Secondary Prevention Study (CCSPS).
abstract: Coronary heart disease, hypertension, and dyslipidemia are highly prevalent and commonly coexist in people who are middle-aged and older. Previous data suggested that lowering cholesterol concentrations in individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease improved clinical outcomes. Xuezhikang, a partial extract of red yeast rice containing statin, has a marked impact on lipids. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the impact of Xuezhikang on reducing cardiovascular events and mortality in elderly Chinese hypertensive patients with a history of myocardial infarction (MI) enrolled in the Chinese Coronary Secondary Prevention Study. In this randomized trial, 1530 elderly hypertensive patients (> or = 65-years-old) with previous MI were assigned either to placebo (n = 758) or to Xuezhikang (n = 772) daily for an average of 4.5 years. The primary endpoint was recurrent coronary events; the secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality and other clinical events, including adverse effects. There were 68 cases of coronary events (8.8%) detected in the Xuezhikang group and 108 cases (14.3%) in the placebo group (38.2% risk reduction by Xuezhikang therapy). Death from coronary heart disease (CHD) totaled 49 cases in the Xuezhikang group (6.4%) and 68 cases in the placebo group (9.0%), indicating that Xuezhikang significantly decreased the risk of CHD death by 29.2%. Our study demonstrated that Xuezhikang therapy could effectively and safely reduce cardiovascular events and all-cause death in Chinese elderly hypertensive patients with previous MI. This finding may have an important implication for the treatment of elderly hypertensive patients with CHD.
authors: Department of Cardiology, Fu Wai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, People's Republic of China. lijnjn@yahoo.com.cn
authors: Jian-Jun
authors: JJ
authors: Li
authors: Zong-Liang
authors: ZL
authors: Lu
authors: Wen-Rong
authors: WR
authors: Kou
authors: Zuo
authors: Z
authors: Chen
authors: Yang-Feng
authors: YF
authors: Wu
authors: Xue-Hai
authors: XH
authors: Yu
authors: Yu-Cheng
authors: YC
authors: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C496822:xuezhikang