- Question
- Can rosuvastatin prevent cardiovascular events in apparently healthy people without hyperlipidemia but with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein?
- Design
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase 3 trial of 17802 participants. It was stopped early, after a median follow-up of 1.9 years (maximum, 5.0).
- Population
- Apparently healthy men and women with LDL cholesterol below 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein of 2.0 mg/L or higher.
- Intervention
- Rosuvastatin 20 mg once daily.
- Control
- Placebo once daily.
- Primary outcome
- Composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, arterial revascularization, hospitalization for unstable angina, or death from cardiovascular causes.
- Results
- The primary endpoint occurred at rates of 0.77 vs 1.36 per 100 person-years with rosuvastatin vs placebo (HR 0.56; 95% CI 0.46 to 0.69; P<0.00001). All-cause death was also lower (HR 0.80; 95% CI 0.67 to 0.97; P=0.02). Rosuvastatin lowered LDL cholesterol by 50% and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein by 37%.
- Safety
- There was no significant increase in myopathy or cancer, but physician-reported diabetes was more frequent in the rosuvastatin group.
- Conclusion
- In apparently healthy people without hyperlipidemia but with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, rosuvastatin significantly reduced major cardiovascular events.
- Why it matters
- It extended the benefit of statins to people without dyslipidemia who have elevated inflammatory markers, and strengthened interest in risk-guided primary prevention beyond cholesterol levels alone.
Card generated automatically with AI from the abstract of the original publication and the trial registry; every figure was checked against those sources. It may contain errors: verify the data at the source before using it for clinical decisions.
Generated on October 7, 2026