Heart disease can be slowed down by taking statins to reduce cholesterol

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Statins can reverse the physical signs of heart disease, according to a new study.
Statins can lower levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL or 'bad') cholesterol while raising levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL or 'good') cholesterol. Now a team at the Cleveland Clinic presents an analysis showing that these changes are linked to a regression of atherosclerosis. It is the fatty deposits on the arteries, known as atherosclerosis, which set the scene for heart disease.

The researchers looked at data from a group of 1,455 patients in four different trials. A technique called intravascular ultrasonography was used to measure the extent of atherosclerosis in the patients and to relate this to cholesterol levels. It was shown that lowering of LDL and increase of HDL were linked to reduction of atherosclerosis. The study did not, however, show that this reduction in the extent of atherosclerosis was linked to a corresponding reduction in cardiac events. But it suggests that statins do seem to tackle what is widely agreed to be the cause of heart disease, the build up of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 7th February 2007 Volume 297 pages 499-508