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Statin treatment within first 24 hours after heart attack cut mortality by half
August 30, 2005In the largest clinical study of its kind, UCLA researchers found that early treatment with a statin drug within 24 hours of having a heart attack reduced in-hospital mortality rates by over 50 percent.
The new study, published in the Sept. 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, demonstrates that early statin therapy may be essential for reducing mortality and other complications in heart attack victims.
"We've known that long-term statin therapy is beneficial, but this study provides the strongest clinical evidence to date supporting the early cardioprotective effects of statins immediately following a heart attack," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, lead study author, The Eliot Corday Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine and Science and professor of cardiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Researchers used data from over 170,000 patients taken from the National Registry of Mycocardial Infarction 4, a national database of patients who were admitted to a hospital due to a heart attack.
Researchers found that patients who had received statin therapy before hospitalization and within 24 hours following a heart attack had a 54 percent lower risk of in-hospital mortality compared to patients not on statin therapy.
Patients who had not received previous statin therapy, but who were newly started on the medication within 24 hours of hospitalization had a 58 percent reduction in mortality compared to patients not on statin therapy.
"We were surprised that early statin therapy showed such a striking effect immediately after a heart attack,"said Fonarow, director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. "We also found that statins provided additional protection from other heart attack complications as well."
The study showed that early statin use was associated with a lower incidence of cardiac arrest, cardiac shock, cardiac rupture and ventricular fibrillation that can all occur following a heart attack.
According to Fonarow, statins work by increasing nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system, which offers a number of benefits including reducing inflammation that may help limit cell damage from a heart attack.
The next step is to develop a clinical trial to corroborate these strong observational findings. Fonarow believes that early statin use within 24 hours of a heart attack may become a standard treatment. "As statins are already routinely started in myocardial infarction patients prior to hospital discharge, it would be relatively easy to administer this medication on arrival to the emergency department." This year 1.5 million Americans will have a new or recurrent heart attack.
University of California-Los Angeles
Researchers used data from over 170,000 patients taken from the National Registry of Mycocardial Infarction 4, a national database of patients who were admitted to a hospital due to a heart attack.
Researchers found that patients who had received statin therapy before hospitalization and within 24 hours following a heart attack had a 54 percent lower risk of in-hospital mortality compared to patients not on statin therapy.
Patients who had not received previous statin therapy, but who were newly started on the medication within 24 hours of hospitalization had a 58 percent reduction in mortality compared to patients not on statin therapy.
"We were surprised that early statin therapy showed such a striking effect immediately after a heart attack,"said Fonarow, director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. "We also found that statins provided additional protection from other heart attack complications as well."
The study showed that early statin use was associated with a lower incidence of cardiac arrest, cardiac shock, cardiac rupture and ventricular fibrillation that can all occur following a heart attack.
According to Fonarow, statins work by increasing nitric oxide in the cardiovascular system, which offers a number of benefits including reducing inflammation that may help limit cell damage from a heart attack.
The next step is to develop a clinical trial to corroborate these strong observational findings. Fonarow believes that early statin use within 24 hours of a heart attack may become a standard treatment. "As statins are already routinely started in myocardial infarction patients prior to hospital discharge, it would be relatively easy to administer this medication on arrival to the emergency department." This year 1.5 million Americans will have a new or recurrent heart attack.
University of California-Los Angeles
Statins Current Events and Statins News RSSEarly end to key study on benefits of niacin, a B vitamin, in keeping arteries open was premature
Heart experts at Johns Hopkins are calling premature the early halt of a study by researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center on the benefits of combining extended-release niacin, a B vitamin, with cholesterol-lowering statin medications to prevent blood vessel narrowing.
Researchers mobilizing global resources to test new treatments for severe H1N1 infection
An important, ground-breaking initiative is unfolding in the global critical care community in response to the H1N1 pandemic.
Widely used cholesterol-lowering drug may prevent progression
Simvastatin, a commonly used, cholesterol-lowering drug, may prevent Parkinson's disease from progressing further. Neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center conducted a study examining the use of the FDA-approved medication in mice with Parkinson's disease and found that the drug successfully reverses the biochemical, cellular and anatomical changes caused by the disease.
Statins show dramatic drug and cell dependent effects in the brain
Besides their tremendous value in treating high cholesterol and lowering the risk of heart disease, statins have also been reported to potentially lower the risks of other diseases, such as dementia.
Cholesterol-lowering medicines may be effective against cancer
Statins lower cholesterol by blocking certain enzymes involved in our metabolism.
Adding ezetimibe to atorvastatin improves lipid control
Adding ezetimibe to atorvastatin significantly boosted the attainment of lipid targets as specified by both Canadian and European guidelines in elderly patients aged 65 and older and the combination produced superior results than simply increasing the dose of atorvastatin alone.
Use of statins favors the wealthy, creating new social disparities in cholesterol
Since the introduction of statins to treat high cholesterol, the decline in lipid levels experienced by the wealthy has been double that experienced by the poor.
Women with Atrial Fibrillation Are at Significantly Higher Risk of Stroke and Death Compared to Men and Receive Less Attention
Even though the incidence of atrial fibrillation is higher in men than women, a review of past studies and medical literature completed by cardiac experts at Rush University Medical Center shows that women are more likely than men to experience symptomatic attacks, a higher frequency of recurrences, and significantly higher heart rates during atrial fibrillation, which increases the risk of stroke.
Pre-hospital organization: The first links in the chain of survival for heart attack patients
Mortality rate following a heart attack has fallen by more than 50% in Europe over the past 25 years. However, because only minor advances in the medical treatment of AMI are expected over the next decade, it is through organisational changes in the pre-hospital phase that mortality rate will continue this decline to below 5%.
Fatostatin' is a turnoff for fat genes
A small molecule earlier found to have both anti-fat and anti-cancer abilities works as a literal turnoff for fat-making genes, according to a new report in the August 28th issue of the journal Chemistry and Biology, a Cell Press journal.
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