On Friday 26th October 2018 CTC hosted the LIPID 20th anniversary meeting. Over 50 guests attended to celebrate the global impact of the LIPID study and share many of the untold success stories. 

View the day's program, or scroll down to learn more.

About LIPID

LIPID was the CTC's first large, long-term, multi-centre trial. It was inspired by a study in Norway which showed that high cholesterol levels could be lowered with the drug statin, reducing the risk of a patient experiencing a cardiac event. The LIPID team wanted to see if this same approach could be used for people with normal cholesterol levels, as it is not unusual for those with normal levels to suffer a cardiac event. The statin-lowering approach vastly increased the chances of study participants having a longer and more fulfilling life, and changed clinical practices worldwide.

Fast facts

• Pravastatin treatment for six years was found to reduce death from cardiovascular disease by 24%, and overall mortality by 23%
• Long-term follow-up has shown that this improved survival rate continues for almost two decades, largely due to prevention of cardiovascular deaths
• Over 9,000 participants and 87 hospitals from across Australia and New Zealand
• Long-term treatment with statins is not associated with an increase in the rates of new cancers or death
• The results of the LIPID study have meant that statin treatment is now subsidised for Australian patients
• Blood samples collected over the initial phase of the trial are being used in new investigations to determine how various biological and genetic markers are related to the risk of cardiovascular disease and to the effects of Pravastatin.

LIPID participant Kenneth O'Loughlin

On ABC Radio National

CTC Director John Simes discussed LIPID with the ABC's Dr Norman Swan.

Highlight journal articles

Below are highlight articles published in some of the world's best journals. View a list of published research relating to the LIPID study.

• Design features and baseline characteristics of the LIPID Study: A randomised trial in patients with previous acute myocardial infarction and/or unstable Angina Pectoris

  American Journal of Cardiology, Vol 78, September 1, 1995

• Long-term effectiveness and safety of pravastatin in 9014 patients with coronary heart disease and average cholesterol concentrations: the LIPID trial follow-up

  LANCET, Vol 359, April 20, 2002

• Preventing mortality from coronary heart disease with Pravastatin

  New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 339, Nov 5, 1998

• Long-Term Effectiveness and Safety of Pravastatin in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease Sixteen Years of Follow-Up of the LIPID Study 

  Circulation, May 10, 2016

20th anniversary presentations

20th anniversary photographs