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Statins Confer No Benefit for Treatment of Calcified Aortic Stenosis: Presented at AHA

By Jill Stein

DALLAS, TX -- November 14, 2005 -- Statin drugs appear to offer no benefit in terms of prevention of stenosis progression in patients with aortic stenosis, according to data presented here at the American Heart Association's (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2005.

Todd Hitchcock, MD, Cardiology Fellow, Scripps Clinic/Green Hospital and The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States, reported the results on November 13^th.

His group examined the database of the Scripps Clinic echocardiography laboratory for patients with a diagnosis of aortic stenosis who had two echocardiograms at least 6 months apart.

Dr. Hitchcock and colleagues gathered clinical and laboratory data on 61 statin-treated patients and 130 controls. Two investigators reviewed the echocardiograms independently for accuracy.

Statin drugs are known to provide substantial benefits in patients with coronary artery disease, therefore, there is interest in whether these drugs may be effective for treating aortic stenosis, Dr. Hitchcock pointed out. Two prior studies with more than 200 patients found a significant decrease in the annualized rate of progression of aortic stenosis in statin-treated patients versus controls.

In Dr. Hitchcock's study, the time between the two echocardiograms averaged 1.88 years in the control group and 2.08 years in the statin group (P = NS).

Results showed no difference between statin-treated subjects and controls for annualized rate of progression measured by change in aortic valve area (-0.14 cm²/year versus -0.11 cm²/year) and change in mean gradient (4.8 mm Hg/year versus 3.6 mm Hg/year).

Calcific aortic stenosis is the most common form of valvular heart disease in the industrialized world and is the leading indication for valve replacement in North America and Europe. Currently, no medical therapy is available to postpone its progression, and surgery is necessary with symptom onset.

Severe aortic stenosis is present in 3% of persons over 75 years of age and almost 9% of those over 85.


[Presentation title: A Retrospective Analysis Suggests No Benefit of Statins For Treatment of Calcific Aortic Stenosis. Abstract 1687]

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