An assessment of the efficacy of atorvastatin in treating patients with dyslipidaemia to target LDL-cholesterol goals: the atorvastatin matrix study.

A total of 531 patients from 57 hospital centres across the UK, who had previously been treated with lipid-lowering agents in combination or alone, in whom the degree of cholesterol reduction was insufficient to achieve European Atherosclerosis Society target levels, were treated with atorvastatin over a 12-week period. The dose of atorvastatin (10, 20 or 80 mg/day) was determined by assignment of risk based on entry level cholesterol levels and the presence of other established CHD risk factors. Atorvastatin was successful in achieving target LDL-cholesterol levels in 86% of mild risk patients, 88% of moderate risk patients and 52% of high risk patients. Compliance with atorvastatin was 96% and treatment was well tolerated. This study demonstrates that atorvastatin is effective in achieving target lipid levels in a large proportion of patients and that the dose required can be predicted by an assessment of the patient's risk profile.