Current perspectives on statins.

ABSTRACT

As the epidemic of coronary artery disease rages on round the globe, research is always on to find suitable drugs to reverse the trend. While aspirin, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors have been shown to reduce coronary mortality and morbidity, statins are rapidly coming to fore as another important cog in the wheel of primary and secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. Newer trial like Heart Protection Study suggests benefit of statin for high risk individuals, irrespective of initial serum cholesterol concentrations. This may be of great relevance in the Indian context taking into consideration the vast majority of coronary artery disease patients having normal to mildly elevated serum cholesterol in contrast to their western counterparts.