Statins in heart failure: do we need another trial?

Kwadwo Osei Bonsu, Amudha Kadirvelu, Daniel Reidpath

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Statins lower serum cholesterol and are employed for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Clinical evidence from observational studies, retrospective data, and post hoc analyses of data from large statin trials in various cardiovascular conditions, as well as small scale randomized trials, suggest survival and other outcome benefits for heart failure. Two recent large randomized controlled trials, however, appear to suggest statins do not have beneficial effects in heart failure. In addition to lowering cholesterol, statins are believed to have many pleotropic effects which could possibly influence the pathophysiology of heart failure. Following the two large trials, evidence from recent studies appears to support the use of statins in heart failure. This review discusses the role of statins in the pathophysiology of heart failure, current evidence for statin use in heart failure, and suggests directions for future research
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)303 - 319
Number of pages17
JournalVascular Health and Risk Management
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Cite this