title: Do statins reduce the incidence of stroke in familial hypercholesterolemia?
abstract: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) causes lifelong elevated serum LDL-cholesterol. In untreated FH, the progression of coronary atherosclerosis and the risk of premature myocardial infarction are substantially increased. In addition, carotid artery atherosclerosis and the risk of ischemic brain infarction are increased. During the prestatin era, stroke may have been even 20-times more frequent among FH patients than in the general population. In the statin era, both registry studies and MRI studies suggest that the occurrence of ischemic brain damage is not increased among FH patients. It is likely that effective lowering of serum LDL-cholesterol levels made possible by statin treatment has been the key element behind the observed decrease in of the incidence of ischemic stroke. This idea is strongly supported by the results of a recent meta-analysis of controlled statin trials, in which statin treatment was demonstrated to lower the incidence of ischemic stroke among non-FH hypercholesterolemic patients.
authors: Mehiläinen Airport Medical Center, Vantaa, Finland. alpo.vuorio@welho.com
authors: Alpo F
authors: AF
authors: Vuorio
authors: Petri T
authors: PT
authors: Kovanen
mesh_terms: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006938:Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II / Q000150:complications*; D015994:Incidence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors