Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were reduced in all trials but there was evidence of heterogeneity of effects .
There was no evidence of any serious harm caused by statin prescription .
Evidence available to date showed that primary prevention with statins is likely to be cost-effective and may improve patient quality of life .
Recent findings from the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists study using individual patient data meta- analysis indicate that these benefits are similar in people at lower ( < 1 % per year ) risk of a major cardiovascular event .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Reductions in all-cause mortality , major vascular events and revascularisations were found with no excess of adverse events among people without evidence of CVD treated with statins
BACKGROUND Reducing high blood cholesterol , a risk factor for cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) events in people with and without a past history of CVD is an important goal of pharmacotherapy .
Statins are the first-choice agents .
Previous review s of the effects of statins have highlighted their benefits in people with CVD .
The case for primary prevention was uncertain when the last version of this review was published ( 2011 ) and in light of new data an up date of this review is required .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects , both harms and benefits , of statins in people with no history of CVD .
Short- and long-term effect of simvastatin therapy on the heterogeneity of cardiac repolarization in diabetic patients.
The interlead variability of QT interval in the 12-lead electrocardiogram , QT dispersion ( QTd ) , has been shown to reflect dispersion of ventricular refractoriness and may provide a measure of arrhythmogenic potential in diabetic patients .  QTd and heart rate corrected QTd ( QTcd ) were also proposed to be accurate predictors of cardiac death in patients with diabetes . In recent years , experimental and clinical evidence demonstrates that statins exert antiarrhythmic properties . Therefore , in the present study , we have examined whether simvastatin treatment has any effect on the QTd and QTcd in patients with diabetes mellitus . Sixty type 2 diabetic patients without known coronary artery disease and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol > 100mg/dl and 30 age and sex-matched non-diabetic controls were included in a prospect i ve study . Out of 60 diabetic patients , 30 were treated with simvastatin 40 mg/day for 1 year and the remaining 30 subjects were served as diabetic controls . No lipid lowering therapy was administered to the diabetic and the non-diabetic controls . QTd and QTcd of treated diabetics and the non-diabetic controls were measured at baseline , 6 , 12 weeks and at 1 year . QTd and QTcd of the diabetic controls were obtained at baseline , 6 and 12 weeks . Both QTd and QTcd were significantly greater in patients with the diabetes than in the non-diabetic controls at baseline ( 52+/-13 ms vs. 41+/-12 ms , p<0.001 and 62+/-17 ms vs. 42+/-11 ms , p<0.001 , respectively ) . Simvastatin therapy significantly decreased both QTd and QTcd at the end of first year compared to baseline ( 51+/-15 ms vs. 33+/-11 ms , p<0.001 and 60+/-18 ms vs. 38+/-12 ms , p<0.001 , respectively ) . No significant change were found in QTd and QTcd in the non-diabetic ( p=0.29 and p=0.87 by ANOVA , respectively ) and in the diabetic controls ( p=0.72 and p=0.57 , by ANOVA , respectively ) . This study suggests for the first time that simvastatin treatment in diabetic patients with hyperlipidemia is associated with an improvement in the heterogeneity of cardiac repolarization . This may be one of the mechanisms for the reduction in clinical events reported in the survival studies with statins . Further prospect i ve r and omized studies are warranted to confirm our findings
Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol were reduced in all trials but there was evidence of heterogeneity of effects .
There was no evidence of any serious harm caused by statin prescription .
Evidence available to date showed that primary prevention with statins is likely to be cost-effective and may improve patient quality of life .
Recent findings from the Cholesterol Treatment Trialists study using individual patient data meta- analysis indicate that these benefits are similar in people at lower ( < 1 % per year ) risk of a major cardiovascular event .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Reductions in all-cause mortality , major vascular events and revascularisations were found with no excess of adverse events among people without evidence of CVD treated with statins
BACKGROUND Reducing high blood cholesterol , a risk factor for cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) events in people with and without a past history of CVD is an important goal of pharmacotherapy .
Statins are the first-choice agents .
Previous review s of the effects of statins have highlighted their benefits in people with CVD .
The case for primary prevention was uncertain when the last version of this review was published ( 2011 ) and in light of new data an up date of this review is required .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects , both harms and benefits , of statins in people with no history of CVD .