Based on moderate quality evidence , due to concerns about risk of bias and imprecision , initiation of statin therapy within 14 days following ACS does not reduce death , myocardial infa rct ion , or stroke up to four months , but reduces the occurrence of unstable angina at four months following ACS .
Serious side effects were rare
BACKGROUND The early period following the onset of acute coronary syndrome ( ACS ) represents a critical stage of coronary heart disease , with a high risk of recurrent events and deaths .
The short-term effects of early treatment with statins on patient-relevant outcomes in patients suffering from ACS are unclear .
This is an up date of a review previously published in 2011 .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects , both harms and benefits , of early administered statins in patients with ACS , in terms of mortality and cardiovascular events .
Systematic, immediate in-hospital initiation of lipid-lowering drugs during acute coronary events improves lipid control.
Background : Patients who have had a coronary heart attack often go completely untreated for hypercholesterolemia . We investigated whether immediate initiation of lipid-lowering drugs during hospitalization for acute coronary events increases the proportion of correctly treated patients compared to referred treatment as recommended by current guidelines . Methods : This prospect i ve , multicenter study r and omized 57 hypercholesterolemic patients hospitalized for acute coronary events to immediate in-hospital initiation or to referred initiation of lipid-lowering drugs by primary care physicians 3 months after unsuccessful nutritional intervention .  Results : After 6 months , 53 patients were available for follow-up . More patients in the immediate initiation group ( 26/30 patients , 87 % ) were treated with lipid-lowering drugs than in the referred initiation-group ( 13/23 patients , 57 % , P=0.03 ) . Twenty-seven patients ( 87 % ) in the immediate initiation group versus 17 patients ( 65 % ) in the referred initiation group had a 10 % or greater decrease in total cholesterol or a 15 % or greater decrease in LDL-cholesterol ( P=0.18 ) . Although statistically not significant , there was a trend to improved lipid values in the immediate initiation group compared to the referred initiation group ( TC , -21.1 vs. -13.8 % ( P=0.08 ) ; LDL-C , -28.2 vs. -18.9 % ( P=0.13 ) ; HDL-C , + 10.8 vs. + 5 % ( P=0.44 ) ; TC/HDL-C ratio , -24.7 vs. -15.1 % ( P=0.22 ) ) , and the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio was -34.1 vs. -19.1 % ( P=0.04 , P = NS after Bonferroni correction ) . Conclusion : The immediate initiation of lipid-lowering drugs in hypercholesterolemic patients hospitalized for acute coronary events increases the rate of correctly treated patients and has the potential to improve lipid control
Based on moderate quality evidence , due to concerns about risk of bias and imprecision , initiation of statin therapy within 14 days following ACS does not reduce death , myocardial infa rct ion , or stroke up to four months , but reduces the occurrence of unstable angina at four months following ACS .
Serious side effects were rare
BACKGROUND The early period following the onset of acute coronary syndrome ( ACS ) represents a critical stage of coronary heart disease , with a high risk of recurrent events and deaths .
The short-term effects of early treatment with statins on patient-relevant outcomes in patients suffering from ACS are unclear .
This is an up date of a review previously published in 2011 .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects , both harms and benefits , of early administered statins in patients with ACS , in terms of mortality and cardiovascular events .