As more and more benefits of the lipid-lowering drugs known as statins become evident, doctors are now being urged to start using them earlier in their patients with high cholesterol levels. They should also be used in patients who have had a heart attack or have unstable angina.

Addressing a recent symposium on Critical Care, Trauma and Emergency Medicine presented by the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Neil J. Stone, MD, professor of clinical medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine, called statins "the most important group of drugs developed for use in cardiology." He pointed out that they are the drug of choice for both primary and secondary prevention, statins have been associated with a reduction in mortality from all causes as well as with a lower incidence of strokes and recurrent heart attacks. "We need to start these drugs in the hospital [after a heart attack]," Dr Stone said, "because it takes time for their benefits to be seen."

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Source:  Torpy JM. Clinical evidence for critical cardiac care. Journal of the American Medical Association. April 3, 2002;287(13).