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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 "This was accomplished by using three inexpensive, well-proven medications that don't have significant side effects," Dudl said.
The ACE inhibitor used in the study was lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), given at 20 milligrams a day, and the statin was lovastatin (Altoprev, Mevacor), given at 40 milligrams daily, but any combination of drugs in the two families could be used, Dudl said. "We feel that these are class actions, not specific to any one drug," he said.
The program has since been extended to include more than 256,000 Kaiser Permanente members across the country and is being offered in community health centers, a company spokesman said.
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"However the atherosclerotic process is advanced, we feel that these treatments would work," Dudl said. Atherosclerosis is the hardening of arteries that can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problem. "We went for people with the highest risk, but the program could benefit anybody with the atherosclerotic process caused by any mechanism, particularly hypertension [high blood pressure]."
Dr. Michael A. Blazing, an associate professor of medicine and cardiology at Duke University, said that the study confirms in one large sweep what has been seen in smaller studies of individual preventive drug treatments.
"The key is bundling the drugs and the distribution system," Blazing said. "Much of the effect is due to getting the drugs to the population that needs them. What they are doing is validating the bits and pieces that have been shown in different studies in different ways. They are also validating the work that shows that individuals who stay on these drugs do better."
The study also has meaning for the current drive to establish a national health insurance program, he said.
"It means that if you do better delivery to large populations, they do better," Blazing said. "It's a kind of model we need to be looking at for the overall health-care debate that is going on."
More information
The American Heart Association has more on risk factors for coronary heart disease.
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