Clinical implications of statin event trials.

Event trials using statin therapy have shown a beneficial effect on rates of cardiovascular events. The three statins that have been used in long-term trials have shown generally similar effects on rates of myocardial infarction, stroke, revascularizations, and mortality. Safety data appear to be comparable for lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin. Long-term trials of other statins are in progress or pending. The question of how much low-density lipoprotein cholesterol should be lowered may be answered by studies currently in progress.