Researchers analyzed a data from the Myocardial Ischemia Reduction with Aggressive Cholesterol Lowering (MIRACL) trial. That study examined the effect of an early, rapid and profound reduction in cholesterol on further cardiovascular problems after a heart attack or chest pain, says lead author David D. Waters, M.D., chief of the division of cardiology at San Francisco General Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.
Between May 1997 and September 1999, 3,086 patients were randomly assigned to receive the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin or a placebo within four days of hospitalization. Currently, most patients start cholesterol-lowering therapy several weeks after an acute coronary event. Previous research indicated other important treatments should be begun first in the hospital and that changes in diet be made to lower cholesterol before drugs, says Waters.
Stroke is a rare, but devastating complication of an acute coronary event. In this four-month study, less that two percent of patients had a stroke. Thirty-six patients had 38 strokes 12 in statin-users, 24 in placebo-users. Three in the statin group and two in the placebo group had fatal strokes. There were three instances of hemorrhagic stroke, which is caused by bleeding into the brain rather than by a blocked blood vessel. All three hemorrhagic strokes were in the placebo group, helping to dispel a concern that statin treatment could increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, Waters says. Although statins have never been associated with increased hemorrhagic stroke risk, there has been
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Contact: Carole Bullock
carole.bullock@heart.org
214-706-1279
American Heart Association
2-Sep-2002