Statins May Help Prevent Irregular Heartbeat in Elderly

Therapies Sunday, May 13th, 2012

Health.usnews.com: By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter, May 10, 2012.

WEDNESDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) — The widely used class of cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins may help elderly patients with high blood pressure avoid developing atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm abnormality tied to stroke.

“Our study found that statin therapy in elderly patients with hypertension reduces the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation,” said Dr. Chen-Ying Hung, lead author of a study scheduled for presentation Wednesday at the Heart Rhythm Society’s annual meeting in Boston.

But the findings are extremely preliminary and don’t provide enough evidence to support this particular use of statins, such as Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Zocor (simvastatin) just yet, said the study authors and outside experts alike. Read more

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