Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2011; 39(4): 14-18 | DOI: 10.5543/tkda.2011.ertas

Treatment of dyslipidemia in primary prevention and rosuvastatin

Fatih Sinan Ertaş
Department of Cardiology, Ankara University Faculty of MEdicien, Ankara, Turkey

Dyslipidemia is undoubtably the most important primary risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis, which is associated with coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular accidents. Guidelines continually emphasize the role of dyslipidemia and the importance of early diagnosis and prevention. Several trials have established the beneficial effects of statins in reducing cardiovascular (CV) events in both secondary and primary prevention among those with elevated lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. While raised LDL cholesterol is a known risk factor for increased risk for CV events, nearly half of all CV events occur in individuals with normal or low LDL cholesterol levels, suggesting that screening of lipid levels alone incompletely identifies individuals who are likely to benefit from statin therapy. Atherosclerosis is partly an inflammatory response and therefore, the anti-inflammatory benefit of statins is clear. The JUPITER trial examined the effect of statin therapy in primary prevention in a patient population who did not meet the guidelines for statin treatment, but nonetheless, were at higher CV risk than would be predicted by LDL cholesterol alone. This study was conducted with rosuvastatin, which is the most potent of available statins, having both the greatest LDL-lowering and HDL-raising effects. This review outlines the pharmacologic properties of rosuvastatin and evidence provided by the JUPITER trial in primary prevention.

Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases/prevention & control, primary prevention; pyrimidines/therapeutic use; risk assessment/methods; risk factors; statins.

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