Clinical Trials

Inclusion Criteria

• Male or female
• Age 40-80 years
• Clinical diagnosis of at least moderate COPD as defined by the GOLD criteria
  • Postbronchodilator FEV1(forced expiratory volume at one second)/FVC(forced vital capacity) < 70%
  • Postbronchodilator FEV1 (forced expiratory volume at one second) < 80% predicted, with or without chronic symptoms (i.e., cough, sputum production)
• Cigarette consumption of 10 pack-years or more
  • May or may not be active smokers
• Must meet one or more of the following 4 conditions
  • Requires the use of supplemental oxygen
  • Received a course of systemic corticosteroids and/or antibiotics for respiratory problems in the past year
  • Visited an Emergency Department for a COPD exacerbation within the past year
  • Was hospitalized for a COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) exacerbation within the past year
• Willing to make return visits and available by telephone for the duration of the study
• Free of active coronary disease
• Life expectancy > 36 months

Exclusion Criteria

• On statin drugs
• Should be on statins based on established risk stratification using the ATP-III (Adult Treatment Panel) to determine 10 year risk
• Documented history of active coronary heart disease, such as unstable angina, prior myocardial infarction, stroke, symptomatic peripheral vascular or carotid artery disease, or congestive heart failure within the past 3 months
• A diagnosis of asthma
• The presence of a diagnosis other than COPD that results in either medical instability, or of having a predicted life expectancy < 3 years
• Vulnerable patient such as prisoners, pregnant women, or institutionalized patient
• At risk of becoming pregnant during the study (pre-menopausal) and refuses to use acceptable birth control (hormone-based oral or barrier contraceptive) for the duration of the study
• Using estradiol compounds for contraception
  • Postmenopausal estradiol compounds for hormone replacement therapy will be allowed into the trial
• Participants otherwise meeting the inclusion criteria will not be enrolled until they are a minimum of four weeks from their most recent acute exacerbation
• A clinical diagnosis of bronchiectasis defined as production of > one-half cup of purulent sputum/day
• Using niacin, azole antifungals (itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole), fibric acid derivatives, erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin, diltiazem, amlodipine , ranolazine,HIV protease inhibitors (such as indinavir), amiodarone, gemfibrozil, cyclosporine, verapamil, danazol, nefazodone, and red yeast rice extracts
• Active liver disease defined as ALT (alanine aminotransferase) and AST (aspartate aminotransferase)  greater than 1.5 times the upper limit of normal
• Renal failure defined by serum creatinine greater than 3mg/dl
• Alcoholism defined as > 35 drinks per week
  • A drink is defined as one bottle of beer, one 8-ounce glass of wine, or one ounce of hard liquor
• Hypersensitivity to HMG CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A) reductase inhibitors, an allergic reaction to statin, prior history of myopathy, rhabdomyolysis or previous intolerance to statin use
• Drink greater than 4 cups (1qt) of grapefruit juice per day
• Drink greater than 3 cups of green tea per day
• Diabetic, defined by
  • A current physician diagnosis of diabetes 
  • Current use of diabetic meds 
  • Elevated HbA1c > 6.5%
• It is at the discretion of the Principal Investigator if the potential participant will not be a reliable study subject to complete the study requirements