Statin treatment is important for heart attack survivors

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Early statin treatment improves the outcome for people who have had a heart attack.
Statins, which are commonly taken to lower cholesterol, have proved useful for those with heart disease. What has been less clear is whether they provide a short-term benefit for heart attack survivors. According to researchers at Walter Reed Army Center, Washington, intensive statin therapy in this patient group may indeed be beneficial.

They looked at nearly 18,000 adults who had had a heart attack, in an analysis of several trials. High dose and low dose statins were compared with placebo for a four month period. The review suggested that beginning statins within 14 days of hospitalization improved the outcome. It took four months for the benefit to become apparent and this lasted for up to two years. During the two years, statins decreased the risk of another heart attack by 20 per cent. The benefit can't be explained just by the cholesterol-lowering effect of statins - they must be having some other positive effect on the heart. The findings are encouraging for those who have had one heart attack - and are anxious to avoid another.

Source
Archives of Internal Medicine 25th September 2006 Volume 166 pages 1814-1821

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