A new study shows that statins may slow the progression of calcium deposits on the walls of the coronary arteries.

Deposition of calcium on the inner walls of the coronary arteries is the first step in the build up of fatty plaque which, in turn, sets the scene for heart disease. Now, in the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany, reveal that statins can interfere with calcification.

They studied 66 patients known to have calcium in their coronary arteries. A scanning technique called electron beam tomography (ECBT) was used to show the calcium deposits. The patients had a year without cholesterol therapy, during which time calcium deposition increased by 25 per cent. Then they went onto a statin for a year, and ECBT showed how the calcium deposition had slowed. On average, levels increased by 8.8 per cent - clear evidence that the calcification had slowed down.

Source

Circulation 6th August 2002