Abstract [1407]
 
 
BASELINE CHARACTERISTICS OF PATIENTS IN THE SATURN STUDY, A COMPARISON OF ROSUVASTATIN VERSUS ATORVASTATIN ON CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROTIC DISEASE BURDEN
 
PJ Barter1, J. Chapman2, C. Ballantyne3, R. Erbel4, P. Libby5, S. Nicholls6, J. Raichlen7, V. Cain7, S. Nissen6
1Heart Research Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2Hôpital de la Pitié, Paris, France, 3Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA, 4West German Heart Center, Essen, Germany, 5Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, 6Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 7AstraZeneca, Wilmington, DE, USA
 
Background: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can assess effects of interventions on coronary atherosclerotic burden. SATURN (Study of Coronary Atheroma by Intravascular Ultrasound: Effect of Rosuvastatin versus Atorvastatin; NCT00620542) compares the effect of rosuvastatin versus atorvastatin on coronary artery disease (CAD) progression.
Methods: This multicentre, double-blind study, initially randomized adult patients to rosuvastatin 20 mg or atorvastatin 40 mg/day for 2 weeks. Patients with LDL-C < 3.0 mmol/L and triglyceride level < 5.65 mmol/L were re-randomized to receive treatment with rosuvastatin 40 mg or atorvastatin 80 mg for 2 years. The primary endpoint is IVUS-assessed change in the percent atheroma volume in a ≥40 mm segment of a single coronary artery.The study will also evaluate lipid levels and inflammatory biomarkers.
Results: 1385 patients were randomized into the treatment period (mean age, 57.6 years; 72% male). By BMI, 45% of patients were overweight and 38% were obese. At least one risk factor was present in 91.8%, including hypertension (68.2%), low HDL-C (39.2%), family history of premature CAD (38.6%) and smoking in the last month (31.9%). Baseline LDL-C, HDL-C, total cholesterol and triglyceride values were 3.1, 1.2, 5.0 and 1.6 mmol/L, respectively, and mean ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio was 0.86. Current treatments included aspirin (86.4% patients), beta-blockers (72.5%), statins (61.7%), ACE inhibitors (49.1%), and ARBs (14.4%). 23.8% had previous myocardial infarction and 21.9% had undergone percutaneous coronary interventions.
Conclusions: SATURN results will allow comparison of the efficacy of high-dose statins in a representative population of CAD patients with modifiable risk factors.