Pravastatin and Primary Prevention of Cardiac Events in Women

Despite the well-established benefits of statin therapy in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in men and in individuals with established coronary heart disease (CHD), the benefits of statins for primary CVD prevention have not been established in women. Investigators in Japan included more than 5000 postmenopausal women (68% of the total study population) in a randomized trial of diet alone (National Cholesterol Education Program step I) or diet plus pravastatin to prevent CVD. Participants (age range, 40–70) had elevated total cholesterol (TC) levels (220–272 mg/dL) and no history of CVD; mean follow-up was 5.3 years. Pravastatin was initiated at 10 mg per day and was adjusted upward to 20 mg per day if TC did not decrease below 21…