Statins Found to Decrease Chances of Cardiac Complications After Heart Surgery

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A new study reveals that taking statins before and after a coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) can lower the risk of developing cardiac complications after the surgery. Furthermore, other key findings show that the statin use can be linked to a lower risk of dying during and immediately following the heart surgical operation.

"It appears that taking statins prior to CABG surgery can help protect patients against developing atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that is a common complication following heart surgery," said Islam Y. Elgendy, MD, from the University of Florida in Gainesville, who is part of the study. "Statin use also seems to be associated with a reduced risk of death during and immediately after surgery."

Statins are drugs that were found effective in reducing the cholesterol levels. According to the Mayo Clinic, they help in preventing a substance that our bodies use to produce cholesterol. Statins may also help stave off heart attacks by working with our bodies in reabsorbing cholesterol that were already starting to build up and block the blood vessels.

In the case of a CABG surgery, the anti-inflammatory properties of statins may help reduce complications. Intense inflammation is one of our bodies' usual reaction to most major surgeries like the CABG due to prolonged anesthesia exposure. These inflammatory reactions could result to post-surgery complications, according to EurekAlert. 

"Previous research has shown that discontinuation of the medication at the time of surgery is common practice," said Amr F. Barakat, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "The results of our review call for proactive efforts to counsel patients and surgeons about the benefit of statins -- a benefit that definitely outweighs the risk of rare potential side effects."

But, while it has already been proven in the past that statins can indeed help in lowering the blood cholesterol levels, there are still a lot of things that medical experts do not know about these drugs.

For instance, Dr. Barakat said that despite the positive development from their review, there is still a need to conduct future studies in terms of the optimal dosage and duration of statin use. He said that for the time being, data show that the benefit of statin use when it comes to lowering the risk of stroke, heart attack or kidney problems after an operation still needs to be fully established.

"Further research is needed to study these associations to determine if the benefits of statins expand beyond cardiac complications," he also added.

Some of the more commonly known statin medications include atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Altoprev), pitavastatin (Livalo), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor). There is also some generic variety of statins available that are relatively cheaper.