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Background Lowering of LDL cholesterol reduces major vascular events, but whether more intensive therapy safely produces extra benefits is uncertain. We aimed to establish efficacy and safety of more intensive statin treatment in patients at high cardiovascular risk. Methods We undertook a double-blind randomised trial in 12 064 men and women aged 18–80 years with a history of myocardial infarction. Participants were either currently on or had clear indication for statin therapy, and had a total cholesterol concentration of at least 3·5 mmol/L if already on a statin or 4·5 mmol/L if not. Randomisation to either 80 mg or 20 mg simvastatin daily was done centrally using a minimisation algorithm. Participants were assessed at 2, 4, 8, and 12 months after randomisation and then every 6 months until final follow-up. The primary endpoint was major vascular events, defined as coronary death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or arterial revascularisation. Analysis was by intention to treat. This study is registered, number ISRCTN74348595. Findings 6031 participants were allocated 80 mg simvastatin daily, and 6033 allocated 20 mg simvastatin daily. During a mean follow-up of 6·7 (SD 1·5) years, allocation to 80 mg simvastatin produced an average 0·35 (SE 0·01) mmol/L greater reduction in LDL cholesterol compared with allocation to 20 mg. Major vascular events occurred in 1477 (24·5%) participants allocated 80 mg simvastatin versus 1553 (25·7%) of those allocated 20 mg, corresponding to a 6% proportional reduction (risk ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·88–1·01; p=0·10). There were no apparent differences in numbers of haemorrhagic strokes (24 [0·4%] vs 25 [0·4%]) or deaths attributed to vascular (565 [9·4%] vs 572 [9·5%]) or non-vascular (399 [6·6%] vs 398 [6·6%]) causes. Compared with two (0·03%) cases of myopathy in patients taking 20 mg simvastatin daily, there were 53 (0·9%) cases in the 80 mg group. Interpretation The 6% (SE 3·5%) reduction in major vascular events with a further 0·35 mmol/L reduction in LDL cholesterol in our trial is consistent with previous trials. Myopathy was increased with 80 mg simvastatin daily, but intensive lowering of LDL cholesterol can be achieved safely with other regimens. Funding Merck; The Clinical Trial Service Unit also receives funding from the UK Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation.

Item does not contain fulltext BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndromes arise from coronary atherosclerosis with superimposed thrombosis. Since factor Xa plays a central role in thrombosis, the inhibition of factor Xa with low-dose rivaroxaban might improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with a recent acute coronary syndrome. METHODS: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned 15,526 patients with a recent acute coronary syndrome to receive twice-daily doses of either 2.5 mg or 5 mg of rivaroxaban or placebo for a mean of 13 months and up to 31 months. The primary efficacy end point was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or stroke. RESULTS: Rivaroxaban significantly reduced the primary efficacy end point, as compared with placebo, with respective rates of 8.9% and 10.7% (hazard ratio in the rivaroxaban group, 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74 to 0.96; P=0.008), with significant improvement for both the twice-daily 2.5-mg dose (9.1% vs. 10.7%, P=0.02) and the twice-daily 5-mg dose (8.8% vs. 10.7%, P=0.03). The twice-daily 2.5-mg dose of rivaroxaban reduced the rates of death from cardiovascular causes (2.7% vs. 4.1%, P=0.002) and from any cause (2.9% vs. 4.5%, P=0.002), a survival benefit that was not seen with the twice-daily 5-mg dose. As compared with placebo, rivaroxaban increased the rates of major bleeding not related to coronary-artery bypass grafting (2.1% vs. 0.6%, P

Objective-To assess the impact of revascularisation of viable myocardium on survival in patients with postischaemic heart failure. Methods-35 patients (mean (SD) age 58 (7) years) with severe heart failure (New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class greater than or equal to III), mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 24 (7)% (range 10-35%), and limited exercise capacity (peak oxygen consumption (VO2) 15 (4) ml/kg/min) were studied. 21/35 patients had no angina. Myocardial viability was assessed with quantitative positron emission tomography and the glucose analogue F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) (viable segment = FDG uptake greater than or equal to 0.25 mu mol/min/g) in all patients before coronary artery bypass grafting. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1, greater than or equal to 8 viable dysfunctional segments (mean 12 (2), range 8-15); and group 2, < 8 viable dysfunctional segments (mean 3.5 (3), range 0-7). The two groups were comparable for age, sex, NYHA class, LVEF, and peak VO2. Results-Two patients died perioperatively and seven patients died during follow up (mean 33 (14) months). All deaths were from cardiac causes. Kaplan-Meyer survival analysis showed 86% survival for group 1 patients versus 57% for group 2 (p = 0.03). Analysis by Cox proportional hazard model revealed three independent factors for cardiac event free survival: presence of greater than or equal to 8 viable segments (p = 0.006); preoperative LVEF (p = 0.002); and patient age (p = 0.01). Conclusion-Revascularisation for postischaemic heart failure can be associated with good survival, which is critically dependent upon the amount of viable Kaplan-Meyer survival analysis showed 86% survival for myocardium.

Contains fulltext : 118019.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) OBJECTIVE: To assess for the presence of a sex interaction in the associations of estimated glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and end stage renal disease. DESIGN: Random effects meta-analysis using pooled individual participant data. SETTING: 46 cohorts from Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australasia. PARTICIPANTS: 2,051,158 participants (54% women) from general population cohorts (n=1,861,052), high risk cohorts (n=151,494), and chronic kidney disease cohorts (n=38,612). Eligible cohorts (except chronic kidney disease cohorts) had at least 1000 participants, outcomes of either mortality or end stage renal disease of >/= 50 events, and baseline measurements of estimated glomerular filtration rate according to the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation (mL/min/1.73 m(2)) and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (mg/g). RESULTS: Risks of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality were higher in men at all levels of estimated glomerular filtration rate and albumin-creatinine ratio. While higher risk was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate and higher albumin-creatinine ratio in both sexes, the slope of the risk relationship for all-cause mortality and for cardiovascular mortality were steeper in women than in men. Compared with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 95, the adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality at estimated glomerular filtration rate 45 was 1.32 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.61) in women and 1.22 (1.00 to 1.48) in men (P(interaction)