3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) Reductase Inhibitors: A New Class of Cholesterol-Lowering Agents

Excerpt

The food and drug Administration's recent approval of lovastatin, the first of a new class of powerful cholesterol-lowering agents, the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, occurs at a time when physicians' attitudes and practices for identifying and treating high cholesterol levels in blood are markedly changing. In 1984, the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial (CPPT) showed that cholestyramine-induced cholesterol lowering reduces the risk for coronary heart disease (1). Confirming the predictions of population-based observational studies such as the Framingham Study, the CPPT showed that each 1% reduction in cholesterol levels results in an approximate 2% reduction in risk