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 .
Early use of pravastatin in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing coronary angioplasty.
AIM To determine whether statin therapy initiated early in acute myocardial infa rct ion together with thrombolytic therapy in patients with acute myocardial infa rct ion results in clinical benefit through early plaque stabilization . METHODS AND RESULTS The study population consisted of 77 patients who underwent coronary balloon angioplasty of the infa rct -related artery during the first month of acute myocardial infa rct ion . These patients belonged to the cohort of the Pravastatin Turkish Trial ( PTT ) . Forty of them were assigned r and omly to have immediate pravastatin ( 40 mg/day ) therapy adjunctive to thrombolytic therapy regardless of serum lipid levels and received statin treatment throughout the study . Lipid levels were determined immediately after admission and before angioplasty and at the end of 6 months . Patients were re-evaluated clinical ly and angiographically for cardiovascular adverse events and restenosis after a 6-month follow-up period . The baseline angiographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups were similar . The incidence of angina was significantly lower in the pravastatin group ( 30.0 % , 12 patients ) compared to the control group ( 59.5 % , 22 patients ) ( p = 0.018 ) . The cumulative major adverse cardiac events in the pravastatin group were significantly lower when compared to the control group ( 32.5 % vs. 75.6 % , p = 0.0001 ) . CONCLUSIONS Early initiation of pravastatin therapy immediately after an acute myocardial infa rct ion significantly decreased the frequency of major cardiac adverse events . Such early potential clinical benefits further strengthen the rationale for starting statin treatment as soon as possible after acute coronary events particularly in patients in whom invasive intervention is planned
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 .