JUPITER: How will the trial results change your practice?

The JUPITER (Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin) trial has recently created waves throughout the cardiovascular community. The trial was originally designed to answer a critical clinical question: Can statin drugs prevent cardiovascular disease among healthy people with normal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels but an increased level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein?

Trial results indicate a resounding “yes,” and the question now becomes how clinical practice may change.

• Will the measurement of C-reactive protein now be required in all middle-aged adults?
• Should we expand the use of statin drugs in primary prevention practices?
• Also, is it cost effective to treat healthy people with normal cholesterol levels?

JUPITER was presented by Paul Ridker (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA) at the American Heart Association 2008 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, LA, and was published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.

JUPITER trial investigators at ACC Lake Louise in March
This year at ACC Lake Louise, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Ridker as well as fellow JUPITER trial investigator, Dr. Jacques Genest (McGill University Health Centre/Royal Victoria Hospital Montréal, QC), as faculty speakers.

In addition to being available to discuss the results and implications of the JUPITER trial, Dr. Ridker will be presenting talks on “Targeting Inflammation As a Predictor of Risk” and “New Cardiovascular Risk Scoring: The Reynolds Risk Score.”

Dr. Genest, who is also one of the ACC Lake Louise co-directors, will present a talk on “Cardiovascular Risk in HIV and Inflammatory Diseases.”

Visit the conference program page for a full list of this year’s speakers and talks.