A new study has shown that statin use reduced the risk of stroke and mini-strokes for patients with atrial fibrillation.
This region-wide study which had a sample size of over 50,000 patients with atrial fibrillation displayed that timing is key when it comes to starting statins after a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.
The study found that those who started statins within a year of diagnosis had reduced stroke risk compared to those who did not.
Study author, Ms. Jiayi Huang, says: “Our study indicates that taking statins for many years was even more protective against stroke than short-term use.”
What is atrial fibrillation?
In the UK approximately half a million individuals are currently living with undiagnosed atrial fibrillation. Those who have atrial fibrillation have a heart that beat with an irregular rhythm.
As a consequence of this condition, the heart won’t empty all of the blood out of its chambers with eery beat, meaning leftover blood cab form clots which are able to travel to the brain and block blood flow, causing a stroke.
Furthermore, one in five strokes are linked to atrial fibrillation, which in the UK is an estimated 40 strokes per day. These strokes are also likely to be more severe and have a higher risk of deaths and serious disability.
As part of Stroke Prevention Day, the Stroke Association conducted a survey which revealed over 70 per cent of people did not know that atrial fibrillation is a major cause of stroke.
Speaking on the survey results, Stroke Association CEO, Juliet Bouverie OBE, said: “It’s worrying that so few people know that a little thing like how your heart beats can lead to a massive stroke.”
The study
Anticoagulant medication is recommended to prevent strokes for those with atrial fibrillation, however, it does not completely eliminate their risk of stroke.
Statin therapy is commonly prescribed to lower blood cholesterol and reduce the likelihood of heart attack and stroke, despite this, the benefit of statins for stroke prevention for patients with atrial fibrillation has been unclear.
This study examined the association between statin use and the incidence of stroke and transient ischaemic attack (mini strokes) in patients with atrial fibrillation.
The researchers on this study used the Hong Kong Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System to identify all patients with a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation between 2010 and 2018.
Participants were then divided into two groups: statin users and non-users. Users had received statins for at least 90 consecutive days during the year after being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
The primary outcomes were the combined endpoint of ischaemic stroke or systemic embolism; haemorrhagic stroke; and transient ischaemic attack. Patients were followed until the occurrence of the primary outcomes, death or the end of the study on 31 October 2022.
51,472 patients with a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation were included, of which 11,866 were classified as statin users and 39,606 were non-users. The average age of participants was 75 years and 48 per cent were women.
During an average follow up of five years, statin users had a significantly lower risk of all primary outcomes compared to non-users.
The researchers also discovered that long-term statin use was associated with greater protection than short-term use. Compared to those talking the medication for between three months and two years, patients using statins for six years or longer had a 43 per cent lower risk of ischaemic stroke, 44 per cent reduced likelihood of haemorrhagic and 42 per cent lower risk of transient ischaemic attack.
These associations were consistent regardless of whether or not patients used anticoagulant medication and the the of anticoagulant.
Huang, says: “These data support the use of statins to prevent stroke and transient ischaemic attack in patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation. The findings have important clinical implications particularly given that in atrial fibrillation patients, ischaemic strokes are often fatal or disabling, and have a high risk of recurrence.”
