Statins Are Effective in the Long Term

The results of a Nordic study, with a follow-up of 10 years, show that statins maydecrease mortality rate and incidence of cancer in the long term. In the ScandinavianSimvastatin Survival Study (4S), which was launched in 1989, patients wererandomly assigned to simvastatin or a placebo for 5 years. The 5-year 4S followuphad demonstrated that simvastatin treatment reduced cardiovascular mortalityby 36% and coronary mortality by 43%.

The long-term follow-up compared the 2221 patients who had taken simvastatinfor 10 years with the 2223 patients who had initially received placebo and hadstarted taking statins just 5 years ago. Overall, there was a 17% decrease in cardiovascularmortality and a 24% reduction in coronary mortality for the 10-yearstatin users, compared with the 5-year users. These latest results were publishedin the Lancet, August 26, 2004.