title: Lipids, statins, and clinical outcomes in heart failure: rethinking the data.
abstract: Lower serum lipid levels are paradoxically predictive of poor clinical outcomes in hospitalized and ambulatory patients with heart failure (HF). In large randomized controlled trials, statins did not demonstrate an overall mortality benefit in chronic HF patients. We currently lack adequate prospective data that aggressive lipid management in HF truly alters disease course and progression. Despite their traditional use as lipid-lowering agents, hypothesis-generating works have suggested that statins may show benefit in specific enriched HF subgroups. Given that patients hospitalized for HF continue to face a high post-discharge event rate and that statins are increasingly inexpensive, widely available, and generally well tolerated, it is imperative that we identify those HF patients most likely to benefit and reconsider testing these agents in specific subpopulations.
authors: Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, GRB 740, Boston, MA, 02114, USA, mvaduganathan@partners.org.
authors: Muthiah
authors: M
authors: Vaduganathan
authors: Stephen J
authors: SJ
authors: Greene
authors: Andrew P
authors: AP
authors: Ambrosy
authors: Mihai
authors: M
authors: Gheorghiade
mesh_terms: D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008055:Lipids