Summary: Clinical trials and other scientific studies have consistently shown that cholesterol-lowering treatment benefits middle-aged white men with high cholesterol levels and a history of heart disease. Medical research also shows that men with moderate-to-high cholesterol levels and no history of heart disease have lower rates of nonfatal heart attacks but no statistically significant reductions in death rates as a result of cholesterol-lowering treatment. Clinical trials generally have not evaluated the value of cholesterol-lowering treatment for several important groups, including women, the elderly, and minorities. Thus, they provide little or no evidence of benefits or possible risks for these groups. Two recent trials using a new drug class--the statins--show greater reductions in heart problems with their greater reductions in cholesterol and no increase in fatalities from coronary heart disease. One trial studied men and women with coronary heart disease and found a significant reduction in total fatalities; the other, which studied only men who did not have coronary heart disease, showed encouraging but not statistically significant reductions in fatalities from coronary heart disease.
