A new report published recently in the archives of Neurology determined that in patients who have had certain kinds of strokes, statins such as Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Crestor (rosuvastatin) may increase their chance of having another stroke. The lead research Dr. Steven Greenberg says that patients and doctors need to think carefully to determine whether or not the benefits will outweigh the risks when taking these cholesterol lowering medications after having a stroke.
The report says that patients who have had hemorrhagic strokes are less likely to benefit from statin therapy and may be harmed by it. Where the bleeds originated in the cerebrum Dr. Greenberg says it’s pretty clear you should not be taking statins afterwards. When the bleeds are deep in the brain the findings are less clear but there it is probably still beneficial not to be on statin therapy.
The report used computer models to see how certain scenarios would play out in order to figure out how statin therapy helps or hurts patients. The results were that in patients who had a hemorrhagic stroke, they were 14%-22% more likely to have another when they were on statin therapy.
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