New Analysis Shows That Intensive Lipitor Therapy Cuts the Risk of Hospitalizations Due to Heart Failure in Patients with Corona

- - -



NEW YORK, Feb. 7  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Patients with coronary heart disease who took Lipitor(R) (atorvastatin calcium) 80 mg tablets reduced their risk of hospitalizations due to heart failure compared to patients taking the 10 mg dose of Lipitor, according to a new analysis of a subset of patients from the five-year TNT (Treating to New Targets) study, published in today's issue of Circulation.

"These results show that patients with a history of heart failure who were treated with Lipitor 80 mg dose significantly reduced their chances of hospitalizations for heart failure," said Dr. Rochelle Chaiken, vice president of Pfizer's CV Metabolic group. "This important new information for physicians and patients adds to what has been shown about the cardiovascular efficacy of Lipitor in reducing the risk of events like heart attacks, strokes and revascularization procedures."

The analysis showed that patients with heart disease who took Lipitor 80 mg dose achieved significant reductions in the risk of hospitalizations due to heart failure by 26 percent. For those patients with a history of heart failure, Lipitor 80 mg significantly reduced their risk of hospitalization by 41 percent.

"These findings have important implications for the management of these high-risk patients," said Dr. David Waters, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. "Hospitalizations due to heart failure are a major contributor to growing healthcare costs in the United States."

Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization for adults over 65 in the United States. Patients hospitalized once for heart failure face a substantially greater risk of being hospitalized for the condition again and a greater risk of death. The estimated total cost of heart failure in 2007 in the United States is $33.2 billion ($30.2 billion direct and $3 billion indirect costs).

Impact of Heart Failure

Heart failure is a condition that occurs when the heart muscle cannot pump enough blood to keep up with the body's needs. Nearly 5 million Americans and 6.5 million Europeans live with heart failure, and nearly 1 million new cases are diagnosed each year worldwide. Patients who develop heart failure often have other health conditions or behaviors that affect how the heart works, such as damage from a heart attack, having high blood pressure, smoking, being overweight, eating foods high in fat and cholesterol, not exercising and having diabetes.

  Of the 10,000 patients in the overall TNT study:
  * The incidence of hospitalizations due to heart failure was 2.4 percent
    in patients who took Lipitor 80 mg dose and 3.3 percent in patients who
    took Lipitor 10 mg dose.

  Sub analyses of these patients showed:
  * Among those with a history of heart failure (781 patients), the
    incidence of hospitalizations for heart failure was 10.6 percent in
    patients who took Lipitor 80 mg compared to 17.3 percent in patients who
    took the 10 mg dose.
  * In patients without a history of heart failure, the rates of
    hospitalization due to heart failure were lower compared to those with a
    history of heart failure (1.8 percent for patients who took the 80 mg
    dose versus 2.0 percent for patients who took the 10 mg dose). The
    difference between treatment groups was not statistically significant.

  About TNT (Treating to New Targets) Study


The TNT study was a landmark investigator-led trial coordinated by an independent steering committee and sponsored by Pfizer. It was the largest study to date evaluating the efficacy and safety of Lipitor 80 mg. The study enrolled 10,001 men and women with coronary heart disease aged 35 years to 75 years in 14 countries and followed them for an average of five years.

About Lipitor

Lipitor is supported by an extensive clinical trial program involving more than 400 ongoing and completed trials with more than 80,000 patients.

Important US Prescribing Information

Lipitor is a prescription medication. It is used in patients with multiple risk factors for heart disease such as family history, high blood pressure, age, low HDL ("good" cholesterol) or smoking to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. When diet and exercise alone are not enough, Lipitor is used along with a low-fat diet and exercise to lower cholesterol.

Lipitor is also used in patients with type 2 diabetes and at least one other risk factor for heart disease such as high blood pressure, smoking or complications of diabetes, including eye disease and protein in urine, to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Lipitor is not for everyone. It is not for those with liver problems. And it is not for women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant.

Patients taking Lipitor should tell their doctors if they feel any new muscle pain or weakness. This could be a sign of rare but serious muscle side effects. Patients should tell their doctors about all medications they take. This may help avoid serious drug interactions. Doctors should do blood tests to check liver function before and during treatment and may adjust the dose. The most common side effects are gas, constipation, stomach pain and heartburn. They tend to be mild and often go away.

For additional product information, visit http://www.lipitor.com/. 







DATASOURCE: Pfizer Inc



CONTACT:  Vanessa Aristide, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.pfizer.com/

http://www.lipitor.com/ 



Company News On-Call:  Pfizer's press releases are available through PR

Newswire's Company News On-Call service on PRN's Web Site. Visit

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/688250.html

Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/688250.html

Copyright