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. 2009 Aug 18;29(Suppl 2):4–12. doi: 10.1002/clc.4960291403

The patient with cardiovascular disease: Treatment strategies for preventing major events

Michael Cuffe 1,✉
PMCID: PMC6654632  PMID: 17436821

Abstract

An abundance of clinical data exists to support the ability of pharmacologic interventions to reduce risk for vascular events significantly; however, there remains a gap between this evidence and current clinical practice. Recent data from large‐scale, placebo‐controlled statin trials demonstrate that these agents dramatically reduce risk for cardiovascular events, even in moderate‐risk patients with normal to moderately elevated cholesterol levels. Data from trials of a broad range of antihypertensives reinforce the value of blood pressure (BP) management and indicate that some of these agents may have additional benefits beyond BP reduction. Similarly, meta‐analyses of randomized trials confirm that antiplatelet therapy prevents serious cardiovascular events in a wide range of high‐risk patients. Each of these interventions alone has been demonstrated to reduce the risk for vascular events by approximately 25 to 30%. A combination approach utilizing intensive risk‐reducing therapy with more than one of these agents has the potential to reduce the risk for vascular events by as much as 75%. Combined with nonpharmacologic risk reduction strategies, including exercise, diet, and smoking cessation, an opportunity exists to reduce the incidence of both first and recurrent cardiovascular events dramatically.

Keywords: cardiovascular events, pharmacologic therapy, prevention, clinical guidelines

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