The JUPITER study: statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases?

Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, raising questions of whether primary prevention strategies that are more aggressive than cardiac risk factor modification alone should be implemented. Recent trials demonstrating the efficacy of statins in reducing rates of cardiovascular events in healthy persons with elevated levels of C-reactive protein broaden the potential protective mechanisms of statins, but do not directly translate to primary cardiovascular disease prevention in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases.