[Statins for cardiovascular prevention: is there still a place for cholesterol measurement?]

Statins, the most popular lipid-lowering agents, have proven their efficacy in preventing cardiovascular events in subjects with lower and lower initial plasma cholesterol levels. Besides, the protective effect does not seem to be directly related neither to the degree of the cholesterol reduction nor to the final level of plasma cholesterol level reached under treatment. Such observations suggest that statins may exert vascular protective effects, at least in part, independently of their specific cholesterol-lowering effect (so-called pleiotropic effects). The present paper will discuss the arguments pro and contra the dosage of cholesterolaemia before initiating a therapy with statin and during treatment follow up, both in subjects with previous cardiovascular events (secondary prevention) and in subjects with a high cardiovascular absolute risk but without previous clinical expression of atherosclerosis (primary prevention).

[Clinical study of the month. The ALLHAT-LLT trial]

ALLHAT-LLT was part of the ALLHAT study. The purpose was to determine whether pravastatin compared with usual care reduces all-cause mortality in older, moderately hypercholesterolaemic, hypertensive patients with at least one additional coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factor. 10,355 ambulatory patients, aged 55 years or more, with LDL cholesterol of 120-189 mg/dl (or, 100-129 mg/dl if known CHD) and triglycerides < 350 mg/dl, were randomised to pravastatin (40 mg/d; n = 5,170), or usual care (n = 5,185). Mean age was 66 years; 49% were women; 38% were black and 23% hispanic; 14% had a history of CHD and 35%, type 2 diabetes. Baseline mean total cholesterol was 224 mg/dl; LDL-C, 146 mg/dl; HDL-C, 48 mg/dl, and triglycerides, 152 mg/dl. Mean follow-up was 4.8 years. Among usual care patients, 32% of those with known CHD and 29% of those without CHD started taking lipid-lowering drugs. At year 4, total cholesterol was reduced by 17.2% with pravastatin and by 7.6% with usual care. A random sample had their LDL-C levels assessed: there was a reduction of 28% with pravastatin and of 11% with usual care. All-cause mortality was similar in the two groups (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.89-1.11; p = 0.88), with 6-year mortality rates of 14.9% (pravastatin) and 15.3% (usual care). CHD event-rates were not different between the two groups (RR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.79-1.04; p = 0.16); 6-year CHD event rates were 9.3% (pravastatin) and 10.4% (usual care), respectively. These results are likely due to the small differential in total cholesterol (9.6%) and LDL-C (16.7%) between pravastatin and usual care, compared with prior statin trials. Such an unusual differential essentially results from the open table of the study and from the possibility of prescribing a statin in the usual care group.

[The PROSPER Study (PROspective study of pravastatin in the elderly at risk)]

Statins reduce coronary and cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity in middle-aged individuals. Until recently, their efficacy and safety in elderly people had not yet been firmly established. PROSPER was a controlled, randomised study involving 2,804 men and 3,000 women aged 70-82, with a history of, or risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Their baseline cholesterol level was 135-350 mg/dl; they were randomised to either 40 mg pravastatin per day, or matching placebo. Average follow-up was 3.2 years. The primary endpoint was a composite of coronary death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and fatal or non-fatal stroke. Pravastatin lowered LDL-cholesterol (-34%), and reduced the incidence of the primary endpoint (-15%; CI 95%: 3-26%; p = 0.014). Coronary death and non-fatal myocardial infarction risk was also reduced (-19%; p = 0.006), and mortality from coronary disease fell by 24% (p = 0.043). The risk for stroke, however, was unaffected (p = 0.8), whereas the incidence of transient ischemic attacks was reduced by 25%, which was (marginally) insignificant (p = 0.051). Pravastatin had no effect on cognitive functions or incapacity. New cancers were more frequent amongst pravastatin-treated individuals (+25%; p = 0.020). However incorporation of this new data in a meta-analysis of all pravastatin and all statin trials revealed no overall increase of cancer risk.

[Clinical study of the month. The MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study]

20,536 adults (15,454 men and 5,082 women, aged 40-80 years) with coronary heart disease, other occlusive arterial disease or diabetes mellitus were randomly allocated to receive 40 mg simvastatin daily or matching placebo. In addition to being randomized to compare simvastatin vs placebo, all patients were also randomized to compare antioxidant vitamin supplementation (vitamin E 600 mg/day, vitamin C 250 mg/day and betacarotene 20 mg/day) vs placebo in a "2 x 2 factorial" design. Duration of the study was 5 years. All-cause mortality was significantly reduced among patients allocated to simvastatin (-12.3%) due to a highly significant (-18%) reduction in the coronary death rate, a marginally significant reduction in other vascular deaths and a non-significant reduction in non-vascular deaths. There were highly significant reductions (of about one-quarter) in the first event rate for non-fatal myocardial infarction and coronary death (combined), for non-fatal and fatal stroke and for coronary or non-coronary revascularization. The beneficial effect of simvastatin was seen in all sub-categories which were studied and, particularly: women vs men; patients aged > 70 years vs those aged < 70 years; patients with LDL cholesterol < vs > 116 mg/dl, or total cholesterol < vs > 193 mg/dl. The treatment was well tolerated and the annual risk of myopathy was 0.01%. All comparisons between antioxidant vitamin supplementation and placebo failed to reveal any difference in favour or against the supplementation which was otherwise well tolerated. These important results and their implications will be briefly discussed.

[Typical angina pectoris = coronary artery disease...until proven otherwise]

Typical angina pectoris most frequently occurs in the presence of episodes of myocardial ischemia. Its presence in a patient belonging to a population with a high prevalence of coronary artery disease entails an extremely high probability of coronary artery lesions. This probability remains extremely high even when functional diagnostic tests such as exercise electrocardiography or myocardial scintigraphy remain negative. This is illustrated by a typical clinical case.

[Acute cardiac failure revealing a paraganglioma]

Therapy of cardiomyopathy is usually symptomatic. So, the etiology is often only superficially investigated. However, because of their curability, rare causes must be sought for. We report a case of acute cardiac failure in a young female patient with severe hypertension of recent onset. Urinary catecholamines analysis and medical imaging demonstrated a paraaortic paraganglioma. After coelioscopic resection, cardiac function recovered.

[Sudden death in athletes]

Sudden death is rare in the young athlete. The causes may vary. In the US, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy plays the predominant role whereas in Europe right ventricular arrhythmogenic dysplasia and atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries are more frequent. Other causes such as congenital anomalies of the coronary vessels, myocarditis, Marfan's disease, the long QT, the Brugada and the Wollf-Parkinson-White syndromes exist, but are rare. Attentive preparticipation screening (clinical history and medical examination) is mandatory in all future young athletes.

Heart graft monitoring by the ventricular evoked response

Monitoring of the negative slew rate of the evoked T wave has been proposed as a noninvasive diagnostic tool to follow heart transplant recipients. The clinical contribution of this measurement on telemetrically recorded, paced unipolar ventricular electrograms was evaluated in the detection of grade 3 acute allograft rejection. Thirteen patients undergoing heart transplantation received a DDD pacemaker connected to two epimyocardial leads. Electrograms were recorded and digitized after each endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). The maximum slew rate of the descending slope of the repolarization phase (RSP) was extracted and normalized. A 20% downward shift of RSP from the reference value was considered abnormal. Results of signal processing were blinded during the first 6 months. Eleven patients completed the 6 months blinded period and two patients died. A total of 101 EMB were graded according to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation classification. Grade 3 was assigned to 9 EMB. A significant difference was found between RSP values measured during grade 3 rejection episodes and other RSP values (P < 0.001). A diagnostic model consisting of a single threshold test confirmed the ability of RSP to predict significant signs of rejection on EMB (P < 0.0001). The sensitivity of RSP in detecting grade 3 rejections was 100%, specificity was 81%, negative predictive value 100%, and positive predictive value 35%. The use of RSP as a noninvasive monitoring tool to pose the indication for a biopsy would avoid 73% of EMB. Monitoring of transplanted hearts based on the analysis of the ventricular evoked response is promising and may markedly reduce the number of EMB.

[Diagnosis and treatment of heart failure]

The incidence of heart failure is consistently progressing among our population; it now represents a major problem of public health and is extremely costly for our health system. Over recent years, several well controlled studies have been devoted to heart failure. They allow to propose guidelines which fulfill all the requirements of Evidence-Based Medicine. These recommendations, however, are not always easy to apply in the individual patient. Guidelines for the sometimes difficult diagnosis of heart failure will be reviewed. On the basis of the results of large controlled clinical trials, we shall envisage the comprehensive treatment of a heart failure patient taking into account the functional class as well as some individual characteristics (age, presence of hypertension, atrial fibrillation, renal insufficiency). The different pharmacologic agents which have demonstrated efficacy will be reviewed and the strategies to avoid the potential pitfalls of their simultaneous use will be indicated. The key role of the general practitioner in the surveillance and titration of heart failure therapy will be emphasized.

[The "guidelines" of contemporary medicine. What do they represent? What potential implications can one expect? What one must require?]

What are exactly clinical guidelines? By whom are they prepared, for which purpose and how? They are supposed to help the practitioner select the most appropriate therapy in a given clinical situation, but do not they represent a threat to medical freedom? Will not they one day acquire legal or economic implications? What are the basic requirements for clinical guidelines to become widely accepted? The answers given to those questions by recent important publications are summarized in this article.

[Pharma-clinics. Medication of the month. Telmisartan (Micardis)]

Telmisartan is a new non peptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist which selectively and insurmountably inhibits the angiotensin II AT1 receptor subtype without affecting other receptor systems involved in cardiovascular regulation. In the treatment of essential hypertension, it shows a dose-dependent activity within the dose range of 20 to 80 mg per day. The maximum effect is obtained by 80 mg per day and it is very close to that seen with larger dosages. Telmisartan has an extremely long half life of 20 to 30 hours and its efficacy is maintained throughout the 24 hour period after one single daily intake. Telmisartan is excreted almost exclusively in the feces (99%). Side-effects are comparable to placebo.

[Clinical study of the month. The ATLAS study]

The Atlas Study was set up to compare the efficacy and safety of low doses and high doses of ACE inhibition by lisinopril on the risk of death and hospitalization in chronic heart failure. Three thousand one hundred sixty-four patients with class II to IV heart failure and an ejection fraction below 30% were randomly assigned to double blind treatment with either low doses (2.5-5 mg/daily, n = 1596) or high doses (32.5-35 mg/daily, n = 1568) of the ACE inhibitor lisinopril for 39 to 58 months while background therapy for heart failure was continued. Patients in the high dose group had a non significant 8% lower risk of death (p = 0.128), but a significant 12% lower risk of death or hospitalizations for any reason (p = 0.002) and 24% fewer hospitalizations for heart failure (p = 0.002). Side-effects such as dizziness and renal insufficiency were more frequently encountered in the high dose group, but there was no difference between the two groups in terms of number of patients requiring discontinuation of study medication. These findings indicate that patients with heart failure should not, as too frequently is, be maintained on very low dose of an ACE inhibitor unless this is the only dose that can be tolerated. The patients are expected to benefit more if they receive higher doses close to those used in the large clinical trials which have demonstrated a reduction by ACE inhibition in morbidity and mortality in heart failure.