A research from the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that statins and beta-blockers can steer patients away from having a myocardial infarction toward the less serious symptom of mild chest pain that occurs only with exercise ( angina ).

The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was conducted with investigators at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland and the University of California - San Francisco ( UCSF ).

Researchers for the study wanted to know how doctors could help reduce a patient's risk of having a myocardial infarction as a first symptom even if medications for high blood pressure or high cholesterol were unsuccessful in stopping the onset of heart disease.
Statins are typically prescribed to reduce cholesterol, and beta-blockers are given to patients with high blood pressure.

Researchers evaluated 1,400 patients enrolled within Kaiser Permanente of Northern California between the years 2001-2003. Of those patients, only 20 percent who had suffered a myocardial infarction were on a statin, compared with 40 percent of patients who presented with exertional angina.

The patients who suffered a myocardial infarction "out of the blue" were much less likely than those who had only angina to be taking statins and beta-blockers.
Patients on statins reduced the risk of myocardial infarction by more than half.

" We looked at all the medications used to prevent heart disease," said Alan Go, of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California's division of research and lead author of the study. " But only statins and beta-blockers lowered the risk of myocardial infarction."

The study also looked at use of alpha-blockers, ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers and, among women, of hormone therapy. None of these treatments showed a similar correlation with a lower risk of myocardial infarction.

Source: Stanford University Medical Center, 2006


XagenaMedicine2006