Pfizer-funded study reports reduction in heart attacks by adding Lipitor early to blood pressure treatment

The early addition of Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) tablets to effective blood pressure lowering treatment maintained a significant 36 per cent reduction in the relative risk of fatal or non-fatal heart attacks over five years, says a new study on Lipitor, the details of which were released by its maker, Pfizer .

This was a post-hoc analysis (designed and completed following the closure of the trial) of the lipid-lowering arm of the Anglo-Scandinavian cardiac outcomes trial (ASCOT-LLA) follow-up period. A majority of patients who were treated with Lipitor or placebo during a three-year study went on to receive Lipitor during two years of post-study follow up.

Funded by Pfizer, ASCOT was an investigator-led trial coordinated by an independent steering committee.

However, Pfizer has cautioned that Lipitor is not for everyone and definitely not for those with liver problems, women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. Lipitor is a prescription medication, prescribed for patients with multiple risk factors for heart disease such as family history, high blood pressure, age, low HDL ("good" cholesterol) or smoking to reduce the risk of a heart attack and stroke, certain kinds of heart surgery and chest pain.

At the start of the study, patients had high blood pressure and additional cardiovascular risk factors but no coronary heart disease. ASCOT-LLA is one of the first studies to explore the benefit of controlling more than one cardiovascular risk factor at a time.

"These important results show that early initiation of Lipitor with an effective blood pressure lowering drug regimen may have significant clinical implications for reducing the risk of heart attacks," said Professor Peter Sever, study principal investigator, professor of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics, International Centre for Circulatory Health at London's Imperial College. "It is vital that physicians use the right combination of treatments from the start to maximize the reduction in the risk of heart attacks and coronary heart disease death."