Atorvastatin in secondary prevention

Abstract During the 10 years of atorvastatin availability in the Turkish market, the physicians have had the opportunity to observe the accumulation of data related to its beneficial effect on clinical endpoints. The scope of this review is limited to the trials concerning the role of atorvastatin in secondary prevention. In GREACE and ALLIANCE studies, the benefit of atorvastatin was demonstrated in patients with coronary heart disease in real-world setting. TNT was the first trial which showed that aggressive lipid lowering therapy was more protective than a moderate one in patients with stable coronary artery disease. In the MIRACL trial, 80 mg atorvastatin was compared with placebo and found effective in preventing ischemic events in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndromes. PROVE-IT proved that aggressive lipid lowering therapy with atorvastatin 80 mg was much more effective than moderate therapy (pravastatin 40 mg) in patients with all types of acute coronary syndromes. AVERT was the first statin trial to show that aggressive therapy with atorvastatin was at least as effective as angioplasty in patients with stable coronary artery disease. The SPARCL trial demonstrated the efficacy of atorvastatin in secondary prevention of patients with stroke.