Primary prevention with pravastatin for 5 years continued to prevent coronary events in the next 10 years
I Ford
Dr I Ford, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; ian@stats.gla.ac.uk
QUESTION
In middle-aged men with hypercholesterolaemia and no history of myocardial infarction (MI), does 5 years of treatment with pravastatin have long-term benefits for prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD)?
METHODS
Design:
post-trial follow-up of a randomised, placebo-controlled trial (West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study [WOSCOPS]).
Allocation:
unclear allocation concealment.
Blinding:
blinded during the trial period {clinicians, patients, data collectors, and outcome adjudication committees}.*
Follow-up period:
original trial follow-up was 5 years; this study followed up surviving patients (96%) for 10 more years.
Setting:
{coronary screening clinics in the UK}.*
Patients:
6595 men {45–64 years of age}* (mean age 55 y) with no history of MI and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations ⩾155 mg/dl (4.01 mmol/l) on 2 occasions.
Intervention:
pravastatin, 40 …
