Rosuvastatin Reduces Cardio Events in Older People

In healthy individuals age 70 and older, drug may reduce incidence of first cardiovascular event

TUESDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- Rosuvastatin may reduce the incidence of major cardiovascular events in apparently healthy older individuals without hyperlipidemia but with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels, according to an analysis published in the April 20 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Robert J. Glynn, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues evaluated the efficacy and safety of rosuvastatin in 17,802 individuals who had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels less than 130 mg/dL and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels of 2.0 mg/L or more without cardiovascular disease, 5,695 of whom were 70 or older. The participants had been randomly assigned to receive 20 mg rosuvastatin daily or placebo.

The researchers found that the rates of the primary end point (occurrence of a first cardiovascular event, which included myocardial infarction, stroke, arterial revascularization, hospitalization for unstable angina, or death from cardiovascular causes) in participants age 70 and older were 1.22 and 1.99 per 100 person-years of follow-up in the rosuvastatin and placebo groups, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.61; P < 0.001). The rates of all-cause mortality in this age group were 1.63 in the rosuvastatin group and 2.04 in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.80; P = 0.090). The relative rate of any serious adverse event among the older individuals in the rosuvastatin versus placebo group was 1.05.

"In apparently healthy older persons without hyperlipidemia but with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels, rosuvastatin reduces the incidence of major cardiovascular events," the authors write.

The study was funded by AstraZenca.

Abstract
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