SUMMARY The use of statins was significantly associated with a decreased risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with sinus rhythm .
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Whether statins may prevent  atrial fibrillation  remains a subject of debate .
Effect of Intensive Versus Standard Lipid-Lowering Treatment With Atorvastatin on the Progression of Calcified Coronary Atherosclerosis Over 12 Months: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind Trial
Background — Recent clinical trials have suggested that intensive versus st and ard lipid-lowering therapy provides for additional benefit . Electron-beam computed tomography provides the opportunity to quantify the progression of coronary artery calcification ( CAC ) in serial measurements . Methods and Results — In a multicenter , r and omized , double-blind trial , 471 patients ( age 61±8 years ) who had no history of coronary artery disease and no evidence of high- grade coronary stenoses ( > 50 % diameter reduction ) were r and omized if they had ≥2 cardiovascular risk factors and moderate calcified coronary atherosclerosis as evidence d by a CAC score ≥30 . Patients were assigned to receive 80 mg or 10 mg of atorvastatin per day over 12 months . Progression of CAC volume scores could be analyzed in 366 patients . After pretreatment with 10 mg of atorvastatin for 4 weeks , 12 months of study medication reduced LDL cholesterol from 106±22 to 87±33 mg/dL in the group r and omized to receive 80 mg of atorvastatin ( P<0.001 ) , whereas levels remained stable in the group r and omized to receive 10 mg ( 108±23 at baseline , 109±28 mg/dL at the end of the study , P = NS ) . The mean progression of CAC volume scores , corrected for the baseline CAC volume score , was 27 % ( 95 % CI 20.8 % to 33.1 % ) in the 80-mg atorvastatin group and 25 % ( 95 % CI 19.1 % to 30.8 % ) in the 10-mg atorvastatin group ( P=0.65 ) . CAC progression showed no relationship with on-treatment LDL cholesterol levels . Conclusions — We did not observe a relationship between on-treatment LDL cholesterol levels and the progression of calcified coronary atherosclerosis . Over a period of 12 months , intensive atorvastatin therapy was unable to attenuate CAC progression  compared with st and ard atorvastatin therapy . The possibility remains that the time window was too short to demonstrate an effect
SUMMARY The use of statins was significantly associated with a decreased risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with sinus rhythm .
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Whether statins may prevent  atrial fibrillation  remains a subject of debate .