TUESDAY, Aug. 24, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Early treatment with cholesterol-busting statin drugs may lower arterial plaque buildup in patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome, according to a study published in the Aug. 24 issue of Circulation.
Acute coronary syndrome includes unstable chest pain (angina) as well as specific types of heart attack.
"This is the first evidence that plaque can regress with early statin treatment in heart attack patients," study lead author Dr. Shinya Okazaki, a cardiology instructor at Juntendo University School of Medicine in Tokyo, said in a prepared statement.
"This evidence provides further support for the use of statins after a heart attack," Okazaki said.
The study included 70 heart attack or unstable angina patients who had emergency treatment to re-open narrowed arteries. Half of the study subjects took 20 milligram daily doses of the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin (Lipitor), while the other half were placed on a cholesterol-lowering diet without statin medications.
After six months, artery plaque declined by an average of 13.1 percent in the statin group and increased by an average of 8.7 percent in the control group.
More information
The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about plaque and coronary artery disease.
