People with high cholesterol can reduce the risk of a first time heart attack by 31 per cent and the risk or death by 22 per cent by takIng a widely prescribed drug tailed pravastatin sodium. This was the conclusion ofa landmark study in the UK -the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study - presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association. In the study, conducted by the University of Glasgowand funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals, nearly one-third of expected heart attacks were avoided in the pravastatin-treated patients.