Singapore, Aug 25, 2010: Women and men with a 10-year cardiovascular disease risk of 5 percent or more, and normal cholesterol levels but high levels of hsCRP,  could reduce their risk substantially with statin therapy, according to a new research. hsCRP is a protein associated with inflammation.

The study, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal, is a new analysis of data from the randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind justification for use of statins in prevention: an intervention trial evaluating rosuvastatin (JUPITER). The study included men, aged 50 years or older and women aged 60 years or older.

"These data demonstrate that women and men with elevated hsCRP who are otherwise at 5-20 percent 10-year risk had substantive risk reductions with statin therapy, even though they are currently outside United States treatment guidelines," said Dr Paul Ridker, lead study author and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, USA. Dr Ridker is also principal investigator of JUPITER.

People with a 10-year risk of less than 5 percent did not have a statistically significant reduction in events with statins.

Dr Ridker also said that recent changes in Canadian prevention guidelines prompted a need to better define CVD risk. The new Canadian recommendations call for statin therapy for patients who have "intermediate risk" – defined as 10-19 percent 10-year risk – and elevated hsCRP, even if their cholesterol levels are in the normal range (i.e. LDL-cholesterol below 130 mg/dL).

Dr Ridker said. "However, intermediate risk was defined in the Canadian guidelines as 10-20 percent 10-year risk, yet we observed major benefits of statin therapy for those with risks of 5-10 percent as well." He added that many physicians incorrectly consider a 5-10 percent risk score to be "low-risk," especially in woman who tend to develop CVD at least a decade later than men, although heart and blood vessel disease remains the number one killer of women and men.