In the study of 19,599 patients, those given statins at or before their release from the hospital were about 25 percent less likely to die within a year than those who did not receive the drugs. Statins, sold in the United States under such brand names as Pravachol and Lipitor, are a class of drugs that levels of cholesterol, which can cause fatty plaque buildups along artery walls.
Heart attacks occur when pieces of plaque break off and clog an artery.
Statins may also reduce inflammation that occurs when plaque forms. In the past, doctors have waited a month or two to prescribe statins for heart attack patients because the attacks can cause inaccurate cholesterol readings. The Swedish researchers said their findings suggest that statins can also help when used soon after an attack, when the plaque might still be unstable. The findings appear in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association and come two months after an American Heart Association meeting where a study was released suggesting that victims of mild heart attacks are more likely to survive if given statins early. That study found that immediately giving heart attack patients Lipitor, regardless of their cholesterol levels, could reduce the risk of death, new heart attacks and other bad outcomes by 16 percent.