Towards a new era: is coronary artery disease reversible?

There is increasing evidence that conventional lipid-lowering therapy can arrest the progression of coronary atherosclerosis. Trials are now under way to determine whether more radical reduction of low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol will reverse atherosclerosis and lead to regression of coronary lesions. The ability to effect such reductions has been markedly enhanced by the introduction into clinical practice of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors.