Statins reduce stroke risk by one fifth

Cholesterol-busting drugs make people over 20 per cent less likely to have a stroke, researchers claimed today.

Strokes are caused when the blood supply to the brain is obstructed, but statins slow down the rate at which the liver produces harmful LDL cholesterol, a major cause of blockages within the blood vessels.

The study, published in the Lancet Neurology journal, also found statins can reduce the risk of a recurrent stroke and of major cardiovascular problems like heart attacks.

The investigators showed statins were equally effective in preventing the medical condition in men and women – both young and old – and in reducing the risk of different types of strokes.

Dr Pierre Amarenco and Julien Labreuche, who co-wrote the report, have called for more research into drugs that produce the kind of cholesterol which is beneficial to the body and for new ways of monitoring patients at risk the condition.

They said: “New strategies of care need to be investigated, such as prevention clinics with nurse practitioners trained in the prevention of vascular disease to monitor patients closely to ensure they are treated to target.”