Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with pravastatin in Japan (MEGA Study): a prospective randomised controlled trial.

Background: Evidence-based treatment for hypercholesterolaemia in Japan has been hindered by the lack of direct evidence in this population. Our aim was to assess whether evidence for treatment with statins derived from western populations can be extrapolated to the Japanese population.

Methods: In this prospective, randomised, open-labelled, blinded study, patients with hypercholesterolaemia (total cholesterol 5.