Efficacy of statins for primary prevention in people at low cardiovascular risk: a meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Statins were initially used to improve cardiovascular outcomes in people with established coronary artery disease, but recently their use has become more common in people at low cardiovascular risk. We did a systematic review of randomized trials to assess the efficacy and harms of statins in these individuals.

Methods

We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE (to Jan. 28, 2011), registries of health technology assessments and clinical trials, and reference lists of relevant reviews. We included trials that randomly assigned participants at low cardiovascular risk to receive a statin versus a placebo or no statin. We defined low risk as an observed 10-year risk of less than 20% for cardiovascular-related death or nonfatal myocardial infarction, but we explored other definiti

SUBMITTER: Tonelli M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3216447 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature