The role of statins in chronic heart failure.
The efficacy of statins in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with documented coronary artery disease is unquestionable. However, in chronic heart failure (CHF), evidence regarding the beneficial effects of statin therapy remains contradictory. Although numerous retrospective studies have demonstrated improved prognosis in CHF patients treated with statins, two randomized trials, GISSI-HF and CORONA, have not confirmed the benefit of rosuvastatin in this group of patients. The benefits of using statins in CHF probably result mostly from their pleiotropic action, including the improvement of endothelial function, the inhibition of neurohormonal activation, and the reduction of proinflammatory activation. On the other hand, it has been recognized that low cholesterol is associated with worse morbidity and mortality in patients with CHF. It appears that it is necessary to conduct further randomized clinical trials using different kinds of statins in different populations of patients with CHF.
3 Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, School of Medicine with the Division of Dentistry in Zabrze, Poland ; Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, Zabrze, Poland.
Bożena
B
Szyguła-Jurkiewicz
Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, Zabrze, Poland.
Wioletta
W
Szczurek
Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, Zabrze, Poland.
Bogumiła
B
Król
Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, Zabrze, Poland ; Department of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantation, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, School of Medicine with the Division of Dentistry in Zabrze, Poland.
Marian
M
Zembala
chronic heart failure; statins