This post is also available in: English

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent an important healthcare problem in Europe. Among the objectives of cardiovascular disease prevention a more rigorous risk factor control is needed, including control of cholesterol levels. In clinical practice, reaching the target lipid values may be difficult which could be easier achievable by using high doses of statins. Therefore we conducted a study with atorvastatin 40mg (Atoris, Krka, d.d., Novo mesto) on 787 high-risk
patients with hyperlipidemia. Atorvastatin 40 mg produced a statistically significant relative reduction in the total cholesterol level (by 28,5%), LDL cholesterol level (by 34,7%), and triglyceride level (by 21,5%). In the group of patients without previous treatment with a hypolipidemic agent, a mean reduction in the total cholesterol level by 31,9% and a mean reduction in the LDL cholesterol level by 37,7% were observed. The tolerability of atorvastatin 40 mg was excellent, as adverse reactions related to drug occurred in only 3% of the patients. After completing the study, 97% of all patients continued therapy with 40 mg or even 80 mg of atorvvastatin daily.