Early Use of Cholesterol Drug Boosts Outcomes After Angioplasty

A second study suggests statins prevent plaque buildup in arteries

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter

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SUNDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Two new studies confirm and expand the usefulness of anti-cholesterol statin medications, both for relatively healthy patients and those treated for heart attack.

In one trial, patients admitted to a hospital with chest pain fared better a month after angioplasty if they got the statin Lipitor soon after admission to the emergency department.

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Another study found that doses of the statin Crestor kept cholesterol plaque at bay in the carotid artery, the prime vessel leading from the heart to the brain.

"These two studies provide further evidence that these drugs are very beneficial against atherosclerosis," otherwise known as "hardening of the arteries," said Dr. Robert Bonow, a spokesman for the American Heart Association and chief of the division of cardiology at Northwestern University Medical School, in Chicago.

He was not involved in either of the trials, the results of which were to be presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting, in New Orleans. The Lipitor study is also being published in the March 27 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, while the Crestor trial results will appear in the March 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Trial after trial has highlighted the heart-healthy benefits and low side effects of statins, which include blockbusters such as Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol and Zocor.

The two new studies add to that growing pile of research. In the Lipitor study, researchers in Italy first identified 191 patients at risk of heart attack who arrived at the hospital complaining of "unstable angina" (chest pain). The patients were not already taking any chronic statin medication.

According to Bonow, doctors typically prescribe a statin to patients after a heart attack to lower their risk for a second heart attack or serious complication in the days and weeks that follow. Many of these patients will also undergo an artery-opening procedure, such as angioplasty.

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