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(Circulation. 2002;105:e37.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Meeting Highlights

American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2001

James J. Ferguson, III, MD

From St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Texas Heart Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Tex.

Correspondence to James J. Ferguson, MD, Cardiology Research, MC 1-191, St Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, PO Box 20269, Houston, TX 77225. E-mail jferguson@heart.thi.tmc.edu

The following studies were presented at this year’s annual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, which took place in Anaheim, Calif, November 11 to 14, 2001.

Lipids and Atherosclerosis

The Heart Protection Study
Presenter: Rory Collins, MBBS, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

The study: A large-scale study of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory therapy and antioxidant vitamin supplementation in patients with a history of occlusive vascular disease or diabetes. A total of 20 536 patients were recruited in 69 hospitals in the UK between July 1994 and May 1997; those for whom their physicians considered statin therapy to be clearly indicated were excluded from the study. Participants were assigned randomly to simvastatin (40 mg QD) or placebo and further randomized to antioxidant vitamins (600 mg vitamin E, 250 mg vitamin C, 20 mg ß-carotene daily) or placebo. Follow-up was planned for an average of at least 5 years and actually continued for an average of 5 1/2 years. Approximately one sixth of the placebo-treated patients subsequently had statin therapy initiated; approximately one sixth of the simvastatin-treated patients discontinued statin therapy. End points included coronary heard disease (CHD) death or myocardial infarction (MI) (total CHD events), fatal and nonfatal stroke, total CHD events plus total stroke or any revascularization (major vascular events), nonvascular mortality and cancer.

The results: Vitamin supplementation did not provide any beneficial or adverse effect on vascular or nonvascular morbidity or mortality. Simvastatin therapy significantly reduced vascular mortality (7.7% versus 9.2% with placebo, P<0.0002) and total mortality (12.9% versus 14.6% with placebo, P<0.001). Nonvascular . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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