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(Stroke. 2005;36:1298.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Research Reports

HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors Improve Acute Ischemic Stroke Outcome

Majaz Moonis, MD, MRCP(I), DM; Kevin Kane, MA; Ute Schwiderski, PhD; Bobby W. Sandage, PhD Marc Fisher, MD

From the Department of Neurology (M.M., K.K., M.F.), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Mass; Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc (U.S., B.W.S.), Lexington, Mass.

Correspondence to Majaz Moonis, Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care, Worcester, MA 01655. E-mail moonism{at}ummhc.org

Background and Purpose— Statins reduce the risk of stroke recurrence, but the benefits of statins in improving outcome of acute stroke patients have not been well explored.

Methods— We assessed potential effects of statins initiated before or within 4 weeks of stroke on 90-day outcome. Favorable outcomes were National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score 2 at 12 weeks and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 2.

Results— Before stroke, 129 patients were receiving statins, 123 initiated statins within 4 weeks, and 600 patients were not on statins. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that poststroke statins were associated with a significant probability of a favorable outcome at 12 weeks [NIHSS (P=0.002; OR, 1.92; CI, 1.27 to 2.91) and mRS (P=0.033; OR, 1.57; CI, 1.04 to 2.38)], whereas prestroke statins demonstrated a trend toward significance.

Conclusions— These preliminary results suggest that statin use may improve outcome of acute ischemic stroke.

Key Words: ischemia • stroke • stroke outcome

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