Study: Statin Drugs May Cut Heart Attack Risk for Kidney Recipients

Kidney transplant recipients may be able to reduce their risk of heart attacks by about a third by taking popular cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, according to a study posted June 2 on the Lancet's website.

According to researchers, kidney transplant patients have a greater risk of developing premature cardiovascular disease and may have pre-existing cardiovascular disease at the time of transplantation.

Imunosuppressive therapy may aggravate existing risk factors or promote the development of new ones, notably high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.

Dr. Hallvard Holdaas from Norway's National hospital, Oslo, and his colleagues investigated the effects of the statin fluvastatin in nearly 2,100 people who had previously undergone kidney transplantation.

After five years, there were 70 heart attacks in the group taking statins compared with 104 among those taking the placebo, the researchers reported.

Those taking fluvastatin also saw their cholesterol concentrations drop by about a third compared to no change in those taking a placebo.

"This study shows a...beneficial effect for fluvastatin, a statin that has minimal interaction with immunosuppressive therapy, in patients at the opposite end of the spectrum of renal failure," said Holdaas, noting that as many as 50 percent of renal transplant recipients are now treated with statins.

Other Sources: The Lancet