Abstract

BACKGROUND:

It is unclear whether early initiation of low-dose pravastatin therapy can reduce the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

METHODS AND RESULTS:

The study group comprised 353 patients with AMI who had plasma total cholesterol levels of 200-250 mg/dl and triglyceride levels <300 mg/dl. The patients were randomly assigned to either receive pravastatin (10 mg/daily, n=176) or not (n=177). The primary endpoint was a composite of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina (UA), stroke, revascularization, and rehospitalization because of other cardiovascular disease. The follow-up period was 9 months. The primary endpoint occurred in 31 patients (17.9%) in the pravastatin group and 55 patients (31.4%) in the non-pravastatin group (relative risk, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.87). There were no significant differences in the risk of death, nonfatal MI, UA, and stroke between the 2 groups, although the pravastatin group had a lower risk of need for revascularization.

CONCLUSION:

For patients with AMI, early and low-dose pravastatin therapy (10 mg/daily) reduces recurrent major adverse cardiac events, mostly the requirement for revascularization.