["Treating to New Targets": plea for a LDL cholesterol target of or below 75 mg/dl in any patient with coronary heart disease]

Abstract

The "Treating to New Targets" (TNT) trial compared atorvastatin 80 mg (aiming at reducing LDL cholesterol < or = 75 mg/dl) and atorvastatin 10 mg (LDL < or = 100 mg/dl as target) in 10,001 patients with stable coronary heart disease followed up for 5 years. A reduction of major cardiovascular events of 22% was observed in the atorvastatin 80 mg group as compared to the atorvastatin 10 mg group (hazard ratio: 0.78; 95 % interval of confidence: 0.69-0.89; p < 0.001). Such clinical efficacy was obtained while a good drug safety profile was maintained. Total mortality was not significantly different between the two groups. However, and remarkably, cardiovascular death was not the first cause of death anymore in this atorvastatin-treated population. The results of TNT in patients with stable coronary heart disease thus confirm the results of PROVE-IT in patients with acute coronary syndrome. These two randomised controlled trials should encourage considering a LDL cholesterol level of 75 mg/dl (rather than 100 mg/dl) as a new target in any patient with coronary heart disease.