Treating elevated lipids. Does it make a difference?
Treating hypercholesterolaemia reduces the relative risk of major CHD events by about 30%. The greatest benefit of lipid lowering treatment is in the high risk group. This group shows the greatest reduction in absolute risk and therefore a ‘smaller number to treat’ to prevent one major CHD event. In the moderate risk group three times as many individuals require treatment to prevent one major CHD event. However, this corresponds to the benefit in primary prevention of stroke by treating mild-moderate hypertension in middle aged men.
