OBJECTIVES: To estimate the impact of treating with statins to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets of <3.0mmol/L and <2.0mmol/L in terms of number and cost of cardiovascular (CV) events avoided over a five-year period for regional health economies (RHEs) in the United Kingdom from an NHS perspective. METHODS: Absolute risk reductions (ARR) in incidence of myocardial infarction (MI), coronary revascularisation and stroke based on treatment to alternative LDL-C targets were taken from an analysis based on a meta-analysis of 14 randomised controlled trials of statin therapy.  The average population size for each RHE was based on the average list size from Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) April 2006-March 2007.  The number of patients with CVD and/or diabetes in each RHE was calculated using QOF prevalence adjusted to account for patients on multiple registers.  The % reduction in CV events was applied to estimate the number of CV events avoided in each RHE; costs of events avoided were calculated using the National Tariff 2007-08. RESULTS: Treating to an LDL-C target of <3.0mmol/L resulted in the following CV events avoided (associated cost savings): 1337 (£5.8million) for an average Primary Care Trust (PCT) in England; 1526 (£6.6million) for an average Health Board (HB) in Scotland; 639 (£2.8million) for an average Local Health Board (LHB) in Wales: 1783 (£7.7million) for an average Health and Social Services Board (HSSB) in Northern Ireland.  Treating to an LDL-C target of <2.0mmol/L resulted in the following CV events avoided (associated cost savings): 2004 (£8.7million), 2,289 (£9.9million), 961 (£4.2million) and 2674 (£11.5million) for an average PCT, HB, LHB and HSSB, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this analysis, treating to an LDL-C target of <2.0mmol/L rather than <3.0mmol/L results in a substantial benefit in terms of additional CV events avoided and associated cost savings for each RHE within the United Kingdom.