The duration of study participation depended on the status of the participant at screening:
* For participants receiving atorvastatin 10 mg, 20 mg, or 40 mg at a stable dose for at least 6 weeks prior to screening, the study participation was to be approximately 21 weeks including a screening period of 1 week, a double-blind treatment period of 12 weeks and a follow-up period of 8 weeks.
* For participants receiving a lipid-lowering treatment other than atorvastatin or not at stable dose of atorvastatin 10 mg, 20 mg, or 40 mg for at least 6 weeks prior to screening, or drug naive participants, the study participation was to be approximately 27 weeks including a screening period of 1 week, a run-in treatment period with atorvastatin 10 mg, 20 mg, or 40 mg at a stable dose of 6 weeks, a double-blind treatment period of 12 weeks, and a follow-up period of 8 weeks.