Atorvastatin and cardiovascular protection: a review and comparison of recent clinical trials

Until recently, atorvastatin was known only as a new but more potent statin ('me too' drug) for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. In the last 2 years, data has become available on nearly 32,000 patients, in clinical settings ranging from primary prevention to acute coronary syndromes. These trials show the remarkably consistent clinical benefit of atorvastatin in patients with hypertension, diabetes, acute coronary syndromes, stable coronary disease with reductions in death, myocardial infarction and stroke, as well as in prevention of atherosclerosis progression. In addition, new data are also emerging to suggest that intensive therapy with high dose atorvastatin 80 mg is associated with a greater reduction in inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein, compared with other statin regimens. This suggests that intensive therapy with atorvastatin is associated with a potent pleiotropic effect. This review aims to summarise the recently concluded and ongoing clinical trials and to stimulate further reading.