UPDATE 1-Lipitor reduces problems in angina patients--study

(Adds study details, background)

CHICAGO, April 1 (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said its cholesterol fighting drug, Lipitor, sharply reduced cardiac ischemia in a study of heart patients with chest pain.

Ischemia causes lack of blood supply and oxygen to the heart.

In the study of 311 patients, presented on Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, Lipitor reduced the average number of ischemic events by almost 70 percent at six months, Pfizer said.

The study compared the statin Lipitor, Pfizer's blood pressure medicine, Norvasc, and a combination of the two in patients with coronary artery disease and chronic stable angina, or chest pain.

Statins are the best-selling class of cholesterol-fighting drugs.

Patients in the study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, also received beta-blockers, nitrates and aspirin for coronary artery disease.

Lipitor also significantly reduced C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation used to identify people at risk for cardiovascular disease, in the study, Pfizer said. (Reporting by Susan Kelly, editing by Leslie Gevirtz/Andre Grenon)