Effect of Intensive Lipid Lowering Treatment Compared to Moderate Lipid Lowering Treatment on Carotid Intima-media Thickness (CIMT)

The aim of this study was to measure the effect of moderate (5mg) and intensive (40mg) lipid-lowering treatment with rosuvastatin on the carotid intima-media thickness as a surrogate marker of cardiovascular risk and to obtain whether CIMT correlated with the plaque components in coronary arteries evaluated with Intravascular Ultrasound Virtual Histology (IVUS-VH).

Inclusion criteria

• STEMI,
• no prior treatment with statins and
• a non significant lesion in one of the two non-culprit coronary arteries. -

Exclusion criteria

• age below 18 or above 81 years,
• unconscious patients,
• serum creatinine > 176μmol/L,
• total-cholesterol > 7.0 mmol/l,
• hypothyroidism ((TSH > 1.5 x ULN (upper limit of normal)),
• current liver disease (ALAT > 2 x ULN),
• unexplained creatine kinase > 3 x ULN,
• alcohol or drug abuse within the last five years,
• prior myopathy or serious hypersensitivity reaction caused by statins,
• women with childbearing potential who were not using chemical or mechanical contraception,
• pregnant or breastfeeding women,
• history of malignancy unless a disease-free period of more than five years was present,
• patients with abnormal lung function test (LFT),
• participation in another investigational drug study less than four weeks before enrolment in the present study,
• treatment with cyclosporine or fibrates. -