[State of the Art: Statin Therapy].

This review summarizes the pharmacology and clinical use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, statins. LDL-Cholesterol lowering with statins reduces atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk by approx. one quater per year of treatment. The efficacy and safety of statins are demonstrated by randomized trials irrespective of the patient's age. The synthetic statins, rosuvastatin and atorvastatin, are superior with regard to LDL-C lowering, half-life and drug-interactions compared to the older statins such as simvastatin. Modern lipid lowering therapy uses individualized statin-based combination therapies.