Statin treatment following coronary artery stenting and one-year survival.
OBJECTIVE
We assessed the influence of statin therapy given after the procedure on one-year survival of patients treated with coronary artery stenting.


BACKGROUND
Coronary artery stenting is currently a common treatment option for patients with symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD). Although several secondary prevention trials have demonstrated improved survival achieved with statin therapy in conservatively treated patients with CAD, it is not known whether this benefit can also be expected in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions with intraluminal stenting.


METHODS
This study included 4,520 patients younger than 80 years who underwent coronary artery stenting and were discharged from the hospital in the period October 1995 through September 1999. We compared one-year mortality of 3,585 patients who received statins after stenting with that of 935 patients who did not.


RESULTS
The mortality rate at one year was 2.6% among patients who received statins and 5.6% among those who did not. Thus, statin therapy at discharge was associated with an unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.46 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.33 to 0.65), indicating a 54% reduction in the risk of death at one year. After adjusting for other covariates, the risk reduction associated with statin therapy was 49%, OR 0.51 (95% CI, 0.36 to 0.71). This reduction was observable in most of the subgroups of patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this nonrandomized study show that statin therapy improves survival after coronary artery stenting independent of patient characteristics recorded on the day of the intervention.
Schömig
Albert
A
Deutsches Herzzentrum and 1. Medizinische Klinik rechts der Isar, Technische Universität, Munich, Germany. aschoemig@dhm.mhn.de
Mehilli
Julinda
J
Holle
Heidrun
H
Hösl
Karin
K
Kastrati
Dorejd
D
Pache
Jürgen
J
Seyfarth
Melchior
M
Neumann
Franz-Josef
FJ
Dirschinger
Josef
J
Kastrati
Adnan
A
D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017035:Pravastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015607:Stents; D015996:Survival Rate
D019821:Simvastatin; D017035:Pravastatin