The results of study (to use of statins to prevent stroke for patients with new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF)) were presented in a moderated poster session at the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) 2023 in Barcelona.
Anticoagulant drugs are prescribed to lower the fivefold increased risk of stroke among individuals with AF compared with those without AF. And although statins are widely prescribed to reduce the likelihood of myocardial infarction and stroke, "the benefit of statins for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation has been unclear," author Jiayi Huang (a PhD student at Hong Kong University at Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China) said.
Authors analyzed data from 51,472 patients (47.7% were women) newly diagnosed with AF between 2010 and 2018. The population was divided into statin users (n = 11,866), defined as patients who had taken statins for at least 19 consecutive days in the first year after AF diagnosis, and statin nonusers (n = 39,606), based on whether they were prescribed statin therapy after their first diagnosis of AF. The median age of the cohort was 74.9 years. Median follow-up was 5.1 years.
Statin use was associated with a significantly lower risk of all outcomes compared with nonuse. Statin users had a 17% reduced risk of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism, a 7% reduced risk of hemorrhagic stroke, and a 15% rate of reduced risk of TIA.
Long-term statin use was associated with greater protection than short-term use. For statin use of 6 years or longer, in comparison with use of 3 months to 2 years, the risk of ischemic stroke or systemic embolism was lowered by 43%; for hemorrhagic stroke, it was lowered by 44%, and for TIA, it was lowered by 42%.
