New Analysis of Jupiter Data Finds Statin Therapy for Apparently Healthy Women Significantly Reduced Risk for Cardiovascular Events

Boston, MA, March 12, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Statin therapy for women has been considered controversial due to a lack of research proving benefit. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, analyzing data from the landmark JUPITER trial, have found, for the first time, that women with acceptable levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) but elevated high sensitivity C-reactive protein levels (hsCRP, a biomarker for inflammation) benefited greatly from a daily regimen of rosuvastatin. Compared to women in the study who were given placebo, women on the statin therapy nearly cut in half their risk for cardiovascular disease, a risk reduction similar to those found among men in the study. The findings appear in the February 22, 2009 on line edition of the journal Circulation.

The JUPITER findings were also compared to a meta-analysis of five peer- reviewed, randomized, placebo-controlled statin trials. Put in context with this material, the women on statin therapy from the meta-analysis had a one third reduced risk of CVD compared to those taking a placebo.

For this research, 6801 female participants in the JUPITER study, who did not have cardiovascular disease, were greater than age 60 with acceptable levels of LDL cholesterol but elevated hsCRP, were randomized to receive rosuvastatin or placebo. Among the group receiving rosuvastatin, the researchers found cardiovascular events such as heart attack; stroke, unstable angina, and revascularization were reduced by 46 percent compared to women in the study who received the placebo. Previous findings from JUPITER showed men on resovastatin therapy reduced their CVD risks by 42 percent compared to men in the study taking the placebo.

“Our findings show for the first time that apparently healthy women with acceptable cholesterol levels but higher hsCRP would benefit from statin therapy,” said Samia Mora MD, lead author of the study and a researcher in the BWH Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. “We now have a new tool to better protect women from the risks of cardiovascular disease, since more women die each year from cardiovascular disease than all cancers combined.”

The research was funded by AstraZeneca.

About Brigham and Women's Hospital:-
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 777-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare, an integrated health care delivery network. In July of 2008, the hospital opened the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center, the most advanced center of its kind. BWH is committed to excellence in patient care with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery. The BWH medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in quality improvement and patient safety initiatives and its dedication to educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, involving more than 860 physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by more than $416 M in funding. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative. For more information about BWH, please visit http://www.brighamandwomens.org/

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