Intensive lipid lowering may reduce progression of carotid atherosclerosis within 12 months of treatment: the METEOR study

. Background. In several statin trials, vascular event rates for treatment groups begin to separate 1 year after commencement of treatment. For atherosclerosis progression, the temporal sequence of the effect has not been defined. We used data from the Measuring Effects on intima media Thickness: an Evaluation Of Rosuvastatin (METEOR) trial to determine the earliest time point at which significant differences in atherosclerosis progression rates could be detected after initiation of statin therapy. Methods. The METEOR trial was a double‐blind, randomized placebo‐controlled trial that studied the effect of LDL‐C lowering with 40 mg rosuvastatin on the rate of change of carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) measured by B‐mode ultrasound amongst 984 low risk subjects. Ultrasound assessments were made at baseline and every 6 months up to 2 years. Results. Rosuvastatin treatment was associated with a 49% reduction in LDL‐C‐C, a 34% reduction in total cholesterol, an 8.0% increase in HDL‐C and a 16% reduction in triglycerides (all P