WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who achieve very low LDL levels don't face increased health risks, according to research published in the Oct. 18 edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Stephen Wiviott, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues studied 1,825 heart patients who took 80 milligrams of Lipitor (atorvastatin) daily. More than 90% of the patients achieved LDL levels below the recommended target of 100 mg/dL. Of these, 14% had a level of 80 to 100 mg/dL, 31% had 60 to 80 mg/dL, 34% had 40 to 60 mg/dL and 11% had a level below 40 mg/dL.
Previous studies have raised concerns about the safety of very low LDL. But there were no significant differences in outcome between patients who achieved the LDL goal of 80 to 100 mg/dL and those with lower levels. Levels below 60 mg/dL were associated with fewer major cardiac events.
"These data identify no intrinsic safety concern of achieving low LDL and, therefore, a strategy of intensive treatment need not be altered in patients achieving very low LDL levels," the authors conclude.
Wiviott has given educational lectures and received honoraria from Merck and Pfizer, Lipitor's manufacturer.
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