Numerous studies have shown that cholesterol-lowering treatment with statin drugs reduces the risk of a future heart attack or death. One of these studies, the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial, has recently provided much new information on how statin therapy lowers that risk in patients with acute coronary syndromes.

Statins lower not only LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) levels but also C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and what the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial showed was that a high-dose (intensive) statin regimen was better at lowering risk than a moderate regimen. This lowering of risk was found to be related to the levels of both LDL-C and CRP that were achieved with statin treatment, so that patients achieving low LDL-C and low CRP levels had the greatest protection from a future heart attack or death.

Here Dr. Cannon presents some new data from the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial showing what factors are associated with high CRP levels, and what is the relationship between CRP levels and the number of uncontrolled risk factors for heart disease present. This new information gives some insights on how controlling a variety of risk factors could reduce CRP levels.

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- Cholesterol and CRP lowering with statins – how this relates to cardiac risk
- Factors associated with high CRP levels
- The relationship between CRP levels and uncontrolled risk factors for heart disease