Comparison of efficacy and safety of atorvastatin and simvastatin in patients with dyslipidemia with and without coronary heart disease

The efficacy and safety of atorvastatin 10 mg versus simvastatin 20 mg and atorvastatin 80 mg versus simvastatin 80 mg was determined in a 6-week, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded end-point trial of dyslipidemic patients with and without coronary heart disease. A total of 1,732 patients with hypercholesterolemia and triglycerides ≤600 mg/dl (6.8 mmol/L) were randomized to receive either atorvastatin 10 mg (n = 650), simvastatin 20 mg (n = 650), atorvastatin 80 mg (n = 216), or simvastatin 80 mg (n = 216). The primary efficacy parameter was the change in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol from baseline to week 6. Secondary efficacy parameters included the percent change from baseline to week 6 in total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and the percent of patients achieving their National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) LDL cholesterol goal at study end. Atorvastatin had significantly greater reductions from baseline in LDL cholesterol than simvastatin in both comparator groups: atorvastatin 10 mg (37.1%) versus simvastatin 20 mg (35.4%) (p = 0.0097), and atorvastatin 80 mg (53.4%) versus simvastatin 80 mg (46.7%) (p