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Got It, Hide thisPreiss D, Campbell RT, Murray HM, et al. The effect of statin therapy on heart failure events: a collaborative meta-analysis of unpublished data from major randomized trials. Eur Heart J. 2015;36:1536-46.
In people with mild or no heart failure, do statins reduce hospitalizations or death due to heart failure?
People who have coronary heart disease often develop heart failure. Heart failure occurs when your heart can’t pump blood quickly enough to meet the needs of your body.
Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol levels in the blood and reduce cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. Statins may also prevent heart failure.
The researchers did a systematic review, searching for studies that were published in English up to January 2014.
They included 17 randomized controlled trials of statins to prevent new or repeated cardiovascular disease in their analysis. The trials included 132,568 adults (average age 63 years, 71% men). Studies were excluded if everyone in the study already had heart failure, had received an organ transplant, or was having dialysis for kidney failure.
The key features of the studies were:
Compared with placebo, standard care, or lower-dose statins, statins:
In people with mild or no heart failure, statins reduce first hospitalizations due to heart failure more than placebo, standard care, or lower-dose statins.
Outcomes* | Number of trials (people) | Rate of events with statins | Rate of events with control | Absolute effect of statins at an average 4.3 years |
First hospitalization for nonfatal heart failure | 17 trials (132,568 people) | 2.0% | 2.3% | About 23 fewer people out of 10,000 had a first hospitalization for heart failure (from as few as 7 to as many as 36 out of 10,000) |
Death due to heart failure | 14 trials (115,570 people) | 0.37% | 0.38% | No difference in effect† |
First hospitalization for nonfatal heart failure or death due to heart failure | 14 trials (115,570 people) | 2.1% | 2.3% | About 19 fewer people out of 10,000 had a first hospitalization for heart failure or died due to heart failure (from as few as 2 to as many as 35 out of 10,000) |