Mark Huffman, MD, MPH, FAHA, FACC Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine and Medicine-Cardiology Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine 680 N. Lake Shore Drive, Suite 1400 Chicago, IL 60611 Tel: +1-312-503-5513 m-huffman@northwestern.edu September 29, 2014 Fiona Godlee, MBBChir, FRCP Editor-in-chief The BMJ Dear Dr. Godlee, Thank you for your email. As co-authors of the 2013 update of the Cochrane Collaboration’s systematic review on the effect of statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, we look forward to working on and publishing ongoing updates of our review as new data emerge. We plan to begin work on our next update in early 2015. We will continue to seek both published and unpublished data on the potential benefits and harms for our systematic reviews and their updates as recommended by the Cochrane Handbook, which guides our methods. We support the mission of the Cochrane Collaboration to “promote evidence-informed health decision-making by producing high-quality, relevant, accessible systematic reviews and other synthesized research evidence.” As authors of the Cochrane Heart Group, we will continue to prepare, maintain, and promote the access of systematic reviews of the effects of interventions for preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases. We appreciate The BMJ’s interest in our work. Regards, Mark Huffman, MD, MPH Northwestern University Shah Ebrahim, DM London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine