A study found that the patients with a prior stroke or TIA ( transient ischemic attack ) taking Atorvastatin ( Lipitor/Torvast ) 80 mg/die may reduce their chances of having an additional stroke.

In SPARCL ( Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels ) trial, 4,731 patients who had no history of heart disease and had experienced a stroke or TIA within six months prior to trial enrollment were followed for an average of about five years.
Patients had mildly elevated cholesterol levels, and were treated with either Atorvastatin ( 80 mg/die ) or placebo.

Before the trial results were known, the investigators leading the trial decided to analyze the results taking into account baseline characteristics, such as age and gender.
Epidemiologic data have shown, for example, that the risk of stroke significantly increases with age.

In the trial, Atorvastatin reduced the risk of an additional stroke by 16 percent and major coronary events such as myocardial infarction , cardiac death or resuscitated cardiac arrest, by 35 percent compared to placebo.

Patients taking Atorvastatin experienced a 22 percent reduction in the risk of ischemic stroke.
There were more patients in the Atorvastatin group who experienced hemorrhagic stroke ( 2.3 percent ) compared to patients taking placebo ( 1.4 percent ).
There was no difference in the number of deaths from hemorrhagic stroke between the two treatment groups.

A review of the Lipitor Clinical Program, involving more than 10,000 patients with coronary heart disease taking Atorvastatin 80 mg/die, showed the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke was very low ( 0.3 percent ).

In SPARCL trial, Atorvastatin was well-tolerated. The rate of side effects such as elevated liver enzymes, muscle weakness or rhabdomyolysis were low and consistent with the known safety profile.

Source: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2006


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