title: Rosuvastatin prevents aortic arch plaque progression and improves prognosis in ischemic stroke patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Complicated aortic arch plaques (CAP) and their progression are important for recurrent ischemic stroke (IS) and its prognosis. We investigated the effects and clinical benefits of rosuvastatin therapy on this pathophysiology. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether rosuvastatin prevention of aortic arch plaque progression improved the prognosis of IS patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-seven consecutive acute cerebral embolism patients were retrospectively surveyed. All had transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to assess the presence or absence of CAP, defined as aortic wall thickness ≥4 mm or plaque ulceration. Patients received conventional antithrombotic therapy as clinically indicated. All patients with CAP were recommended to receive 5 mg rosuvastatin/day, administered by their attending physicians; not all physicians followed this recommendation. Six-month follow-up TEEs were performed in patients with CAP who received rosuvastatin. Major adverse cerebrovascular events (MACEs) comprised recurrent IS and death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CAP was detected in 39 patients (40%), and MACEs in 15. Multivariate regression analysis showed that patients with CAP not taking rosuvastatin was an independent risk factor for MACEs (odds ratio = 18.044; 95% confidential interval = 2.089-155.846, p < 0.01). When patients were divided into three groups: those with CAP taking rosuvastatin, those with CAP not taking rosuvastatin, and those without CAP, Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with CAP not taking rosuvastatin had significantly more MACEs than those in the other two groups (long-rank test; χ2= 6.553, p < 0.05). Six-month TEE follow-ups in the 26 patients with CAP taking rosuvastatin showed significant improvement in CAP diameter with improved lipid profiles; 88% (23/26 patients) showed no morphological CAP progression; 15 of these showed CAP regression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rosuvastatin therapy prevented aortic arch plaque progression in IS patients with CAP, and may also have long-term clinical benefits.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Cardiology , Kitamurayama Municipal Hospital , Higashine , Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.affiliation: a Department of Cardiology , Kitamurayama Municipal Hospital , Higashine , Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: a Department of Cardiology , Kitamurayama Municipal Hospital , Higashine , Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: b Department of Cardiology , Nihonkai General Hospital , Sakata , Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.affiliation: c Department of Neurosurgery , Nihonkai General Hospital , Sakata , Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akasaka
authors.affiliation: a Department of Cardiology , Kitamurayama Municipal Hospital , Higashine , Japan.
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanaya
authors.affiliation: d Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, and Nephrology , Yamagata University School of Medicine , Yamagata , Japan.
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kubota
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001015:Aortic Arch Syndromes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D018450:Disease Progression; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017270:Lipoprotein(a) / Q000097:blood; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D017270:Lipoprotein(a); D000068718:Rosuvastatin Calcium; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Word; aortic arch plaque; ischemic stroke; prognosis; rosuvastatin; transesophageal echocardiography