If patients with high cholesterol and high blood pressure adhered to proper drug regimens, as many as 2 million cardiovascular adverse events could be prevented each year, researchers estimate. They base their claim on analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2002. Over 1,900 adults were selected to represent the 85.2 million adults ages 30 to 74 without known heart disease.
Using an algorithm from the Framingham Heart Study, the researchers estimated the risk of developing coronary heart disease over the course of 10 years. They found that if patients achieved optimal control for hypertension, high LDL (bad) cholesterol, and low HDL (good) cholesterol, the number of adverse heart events in the United States would drop by 75%. The researchers, statisticians with Pfizer, Inc., presented their findings at the 55th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.