Early Statin Use Yields Attenuated CAV Progression, Risk Reduction

Early treatment with statins after heart transplantation was associated with attenuated cardiac allograft valvuloplasty (CAV) progression and decreased CAD-related events, results from a new study suggested. 

Researchers for the cohort study looked at data from 409 heart transplantation recipients and assessed CAV by IVUS measurements of the difference between baseline and last plaque volume and plaque index at follow-up. They then compared CAV progression and clinical outcomes between the early statin and late statin initiation study groups. According to their results, early statin initiation was associated with a lower change of plaque index (P=0.0008) and plaque volume (P=0.045) compared to the late statin group. Following adjustment for baseline characteristics, early statin initiation was linked with a 52% decrease in risk for CAV-associated events (P=0.025) and a 42% reduction in risk of the composite study endpoint of all-cause mortality and CAV-associated events (P=0.019).

Early initiation of #statin therapy after heart #transplantation results in attenuated cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) progression as well as in decreased CAV‐related events and mortality https://t.co/NgPWbxS9kp@escardio #ESCCoT #openaccess pic.twitter.com/5wYPCzkAiM

— European Society of Cardiology Journals (@ESC_Journals) August 3, 2018

“Early initiation of statin therapy after heart transplantation results in attenuated CAV progression as well as decreased CAV-related events and mortality,” the researchers wrote. 

Very interesting, does this suggest an interesting between donor and recipient vascular risk factors?@FadiShamounMD @SaifanSound @gcfmd @NMHheartdoc @SusanJosephMD https://t.co/GpPA8KWJNd

— Farah Al-Saffar (@falsaffar17) August 3, 2018

#heartFailure the data for pediatric heart transplants and use of statins is conflicting, though . Ref a 2016 paper https://t.co/fBqYt0JFUx

— Swati Garekar (@swatigar) August 3, 2018

Statins and Heart transplantation @alxbenevides @FZores @dib @Khanoyan_cardio @CNCFCardio @bisca_s @ArsenaultBenoit @Costa_F_8 @Ragot00752248 https://t.co/4sKHacRpCh

— SABOURETCardiologist (@SABOURETCardio) August 3, 2018

Source: ESC Heart Failure