Effects of Lovastatin and Pravastatin on Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Howard N. Hodis
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1994)

Letters1 May 1994Effects of Lovastatin and Pravastatin on Coronary Artery DiseaseHoward N. Hodis, MD, Linda Cashin-Hemphill, MD, and Wendy J. Mack, PhDHoward N. Hodis, MDUniversity of Southern California School of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA 90033Search for more papers by this author, Linda Cashin-Hemphill, MDUniversity of Southern California School of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA 90033Search for more papers by this author, and Wendy J. Mack, PhDUniversity of Southern California School of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA 90033Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-120-9-199405010-00021 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:We thank Dr. Goldstein for his careful review of our work and for bringing attention to several important issues.However, we do not agree that patients in the MARS trial [1] and the Pravastatin Multinational Study trial [2] were “comparable”. These studies report results in two distinctly different populations. Compared with patients in the MARS trial, those in the Pravastatin Multinational Study had greater low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels (181 compared with 157 mg/dL) and a lower mean age. The latter study also included more women, more patients with hypertension (uncontrolled hypertension was an exclusion criterion in the ...References1. Blankenhorn DH, Azen SP, Kramsch DM, Mack WJ, Cashin-Hemphill L, Hodis HN, et al. Coronary angiographic changes with lovastatin therapy. The Monitored Atherosclerosis Regression (MARS). Ann Intern Med. 1993; 119:969-76. Google Scholar2. The Pravastatin Multinational Study Group for Cardiac Risk Patients. Effects of pravastatin in patients with serum total cholesterol levels from 5.2 to 7.8 mmol/liter (220 to 300 mg/dL) plus two additional atherosclerotic risk factors. Am J Cardiol. 1993; 72:1031-7. Google Scholar3. Cashin-Hemphill L, Mack W, LaBree L, Hodis HN, Shircore A, Selzer RH, et al. Coronary progression predicts future cardiac events. Circulation. 1993; 88:I363. Google Scholar4. Hodis HN, Mack WJ, Pogoda JM, Alaupovic P, Hemphill LC, Blankenhorn DH. Effect of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins on progression of early atherosclerotic lesions as determined by coronary angiography in the Mevinolin (lovastatin) Atherosclerosis Regression Study (MARS) (Abstract). J Am Coll Cardiol. 1993; 21:71A. Google Scholar5. Blankenhorn DH, Alaupovic P, Wickham E, Chin HP, Azen SP. Prediction of angiographic change in native human coronary arteries and aortocoronary bypass grafts. Lipid and non-lipid factors. Circulation. 1990; 81:470-6. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: University of Southern California School of Medicine; Los Angeles, CA 90033 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 1 May 1994Volume 120, Issue 9Page: 811-812KeywordsAtherosclerosisCholesterolCoronary arteriesHypertensionLow density lipoproteinPopulation statisticsSafetySafety studiesStable coronary artery diseaseSurgery ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 1 May 1994 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1994 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...