Score Another One for Statins

Regular readers of this blog may be getting tired of my enthusiasm for statin drugs, but I make no apologies. Every few months another study is published that brings a new facet to their effectiveness. No wonder I believe they should be part of a multi-drug polypill.

The latest benefit statins offer is protection from a second stroke over a 3-4 year period after a first-ever stroke. Published in the journal Neurology, this study examined hospital records and death records of 794 consecutive first-ever stroke patients at selected hospitals in Athens, Greece. A second stroke occurred in 16.3% of patients who didn’t receive a statin, compared with 7.5% of those who did. And 10-year mortality was significantly lower in the first-stroke patients on statins – 22% that of patients not on statins.

This study clearly provides important reasons for prescribing a statin on hospital discharge of patients with a first-ever stroke, without attention to their lipid levels.