Lipid-Lowering Therapy in Acute Coronary Syndromes

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Abstract
In the unstable clinical state after an acute coronary disease event, patients experience a high rate of serious complications including death, myocardial infarction (MI), and progressively recurring unstable angina requiring intervention.1 The incidence rate sharply declines after 1 month, and then gradually diminishes so that after about 6 months, the incidence of coronary death and MI is fairly constant for the next several years, reflecting a stabilization of the clinical coronary disease. Many successful clinical strategies—including antithrombotic therapy, β-adrenergic blockade, thrombolysis, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition—have been directed toward reducing the high early event rate after onset of acute coronary syndrome.1 Nonetheless, the incidence of serious complications remains high.