Results : BP and lipid levels tended to come together soon in the post-trial period .
Conclusion : Benefits of BPL and lipid lowering on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were persistent , but attenuated , after discontinuation of r and omized treatment , indicating the importance of continuing therapy
Objective : Persistent long-term benefits after discontinuation of treatment have been suggested for blood pressure-lowering and lipid-lowering treatment .
We conducted a systematic review to assess the long-term effects of  blood pressure ( BP ) lowering ( BPL ) and lipid lowering on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after discontinuation of r and omized treatment .
The effect of aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and low-dose anticoagulation on obstructive changes in saphenous-vein coronary-artery bypass grafts.
BACKGROUND Obstructive changes often occur in aortocoronary saphenous-vein bypass grafts because of atherosclerosis and thrombosis . We studied whether aggressive lowering of low-density lipoprotein ( LDL ) cholesterol levels or low-dose anticoagulation would delay the progression of atherosclerosis in grafts . METHODS We studied 1351 patients who had undergone bypass surgery 1 to 11 years before base line and who had an LDL cholesterol level between 130 and 175 mg per deciliter and at least one patent vein graft as seen on angiography . We used a two-by-two factorial design to assign patients to aggressive or moderate treatment to lower LDL cholesterol levels ( with lovastatin and , if needed , cholestyramine ) and to treatment with warfarin or placebo . Angiography was repeated an average of 4.3 years after base line . The primary angiographic outcome was the mean percentage per patient of grafts with a decrease of 0.6 mm or more in lumen diameter . RESULTS As measured annually during the study period , the mean LDL cholesterol level of patients aggressive treatment ranged from 93 to 97 mg per deciliter ; with moderate treatment , the range was from 132 to 136 mg per deciliter ( P<0.001 ) . The mean international normalized ratio was 1.4 in the warfarin group and 1.1 in the placebo group ( P<0.001 ) . The mean percentage of grafts with progression of atherosclerosis was 27 percent for patients whose LDL cholesterol level was lowered with aggressive treatment , and 39 percent for those who received moderate treatment ( P<0.001 ) . There was no significant difference in angiographic outcome between the warfarin and placebo groups . The rate of revascularization over four years was 29 percent lower in the group whose LDL cholesterol level was lowered aggressively than in the group receiving moderate treatment ( 6.5 percent vs. 9.2 percent , P= 0.03 ) . CONCLUSIONS Aggressive lowering of LDL cholesterol levels to below 100 mg per deciliter reduced the progression of atherosclerosis in grafts . Low-dose warfarin did not reduce the progression of atherosclerosis
Results : BP and lipid levels tended to come together soon in the post-trial period .
Conclusion : Benefits of BPL and lipid lowering on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality were persistent , but attenuated , after discontinuation of r and omized treatment , indicating the importance of continuing therapy
Objective : Persistent long-term benefits after discontinuation of treatment have been suggested for blood pressure-lowering and lipid-lowering treatment .
We conducted a systematic review to assess the long-term effects of  blood pressure ( BP ) lowering ( BPL ) and lipid lowering on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after discontinuation of r and omized treatment .