Re: Statin drugs lower heart attack death-study


<James216440@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1125411002.911306.233690@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> So what in the world is the surprise about this result? It is old news
> reported by the Cleveland Clinic a year or two ago.

I guess the author of the study had not kept up:

> "We were surprised that early statin therapy showed such a striking
> > effect immediately after a heart attack,"


> It simply is one
> more dramatic bit of clinical evidence that the benefits have little or
> nothing to do with cholesterol. But we have known that for several
> years now. The evidence is very clear.
>
> For all you believers in using this drug class on a chronic basis as a
> prophalactic just remember what the actual long term clinical results
> actually show. Namely that you are buying VERY little life expectancy.
> When people with diagnosed coronary disease are put in clinical trials
> the life expectancy gain for the treated population is a huge 26 days!
> Hardly dramatic. And for the two or three % who actually do avoid a
> fatal heart attack in the first five years of treatment do not live
> with your eyes shut. Those fatal heart attacks are not prevented.
> They are simply postponed.
>
> Now postpone is not a bad outcome. If it were not for the rampant side
> effects it would be a great outcome. But when in excess of 95% of the
> treated population gains no benefit at all and still risks dramatic and
> permanent side effects is an average gain of 26 days of life expectancy
> a worthwhile outcome?
>
> Never the less I whole heartedly support use of this class of drugs in
> the aftermath of angioplasty, bypass surgery or a MI. The evidence is
> clear that such treatment offers considerable benefit in the first
> month or two. The risk of significant and permanent side effects on
> such short term useage is nil. After that they are a waste of time,
> financial resources that could be better spent in other ways and a
> considerable risk to the user.
>
> Of course people like L are blinded by fear and will deny the results
> of the clinical trials. And people like Zee are blinded by personal
> suffering and will deny the benefits of short term use in acute
> situations. So both sides will flame this post. Too bad neither side
> will look at the data and make rational choices.
>
>

OK. So present the data to support you case. Where did the 26 days come from.

A 54 percent less chance of dying in the hospital remains a surprising result
to me.

Bill

>
> listener wrote:
>> They aren't "talking" about it. They actually "did" it. And what's so
>> surprising about it?
>>
>> "Patients who had not been prescribed statins in the past but were
>> given one within 24 hours of hospitalization were 58 percent less
>> likely to die." So, knowing that, if you ended up in the hosptial with an
>> MI (god forbid) and they said "Here, take this statin" would you say to
>> the doctor "No!please read Dr. Jay Cohen's book WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT
>> STATIN DRUGS AND THEIR NATURAL ALTERNATIVES and this 80 page document put
>> together by Sharon Hope. Thank you."
>>
>> L.
>>
>> "Bill" <xxx@xxxxx> wrote in
>> news:GyMQe.359$sF6.326@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
>>
>> > They are talking about giving this right after an MI. Surprising.
>> >
>> > Bill
>> >
>> > _______________________
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Statin drugs lower heart attack death-study
>> > Mon Aug 29, 3:29 PM ET
>> >
>> > Giving a heart attack patient a statin drug right away reduces the
>> > chance he or she will die by 50 percent, U.S. researchers said on
>> > Monday.
>> >
>> > Statin drugs are used to lower cholesterol levels and prevent strokes
>> > and heart attacks long-term, but the new study suggests that the drugs
>> > might join aspirin as something to give to patients immediately when
>> > they suffer a heart attack.
>> >
>> > "We've known that long-term statin therapy is beneficial, but this
>> > study provides the strongest clinical evidence to date supporting the
>> > early cardioprotective effects of statins immediately following a
>> > heart attack," said cardiologist Dr. Gregg Fonarow of the University
>> > of California, Los Angeles, who led the study.
>> >
>> > "As statins are already routinely started in myocardial infarction
>> > patients prior to hospital discharge, it would be relatively easy to
>> > administer this medication on arrival to the emergency department,"
>> > Fonarow said in a statement.
>> >
>> > Fonarow and colleagues looked at the records of more than 170,000
>> > heart attack patients.
>> >
>> > Those given statin drugs before hospitalization and within 24 hours
>> > after a heart attack had a 54 percent lower risk of dying in the
>> > hospital compared to patients not on statin therapy, they reported in
>> > the September issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
>> >
>> > Patients who had not been prescribed statins in the past but were
>> > given one within 24 hours of hospitalization were 58 percent less
>> > likely to die.
>> >
>> > "We were surprised that early statin therapy showed such a striking
>> > effect immediately after a heart attack," Fonarow said. "We also found
>> > that statins provided additional protection from other heart attack
>> > complications as well."
>> >
>> > These complications included cardiac arrest, cardiac shock, cardiac
>> > rupture and ventricular fibrillation.
>> >
>> > Statins lower cholesterol levels but they also affect the linings of
>> > the blood vessels. They raise levels of nitric oxide, which in turn
>> > may reduce the inflammation associated with heart attacks.
>> >
>> > The study was funded by Genentech Inc., which does not currently make
>> > a statin drug but which helps support the registry of patients used
>> > for the study, and Fonarow has done research for several companies
>> > that make statins.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>


.

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