RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Intensive Statin Therapy May Partially Reverse Plaque Build-Up in Arteries
JF MD Conference Express
YR 2006
FD SAGE Publications
VO 6
IS 1
SP 13
OP 13
DO 10.1177/155989770601005
UL http://mdc.sagepub.com/content/6/1/13.abstract
AB The ASTEROID study (A Study To Evaluate the Effect of Rosuvastatin on Intravascular Ultrasound-Derived Coronary Atheroma Burden [ASTEROID] Trial) demonstrated, for the first time, that very intensive cholesterol lowering with a statin drug can partially reverse the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries. This finding has never before been observed in a study using statin drugs, the most commonly used cholesterol lowering treatment. Previous research had indicated that intensive statin therapy could prevent the progression of coronary atherosclerosis, or arterial plaque build-up, but not actually reduce disease burden.