Coronary heart disease benefits from blood pressure and lipid-lowering

Background We have reported the benefits of atorvastatin and of an amlodipine-based regimen on coronary heart disease (CHD) events in hypertensive patients in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT). We report further analyses on the combined benefits of these interventions. Methods 19,342 hypertensive patients were randomised to either an amlodipine or an atenolol-based regimen in the ASCOT Blood Pressure-Lowering Arm (BPLA). 10,305 subjects with total cholesterol ≤6.5 mmol/L were further randomised to atorvastatin 10 mg or placebo in the Lipid-Lowering Arm (LLA). Estimates of CHD risk at baseline based on the Framingham algorithm were compared with observed and predicted event rates throughout ASCOT-LLA. Results Estimated baseline Framingham risk of CHD events was 22.8 per 1000 patient years. After 3.3 years, when the LLA was stopped, the actual CHD event rate had fallen to 4.8 per 1000 patient years—a reduction of 79% in those assigned amlodipine-based treatment and atorvastatin. Conclusions CHD benefits associated with BP and lipid lowering were larger than predicted by previous observational and trial data. We estimate that compared with pre-trial treatment, treating about 55 patients with the amlodipine-based regimen and atorvastatin would prevent one CHD event per year.