Statin Drugs May Lower Heart Attack Risk

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Statins are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in medicine. Clinical studies have shown that statins significantly reduce the risk of heart attack and death in patients with proven coronary artery disease (CAD), and can also reduce cardiac events in patients with high cholesterol levels who are at increased risk for heart disease. While best known as drugs that lower cholesterol, statins have several other beneficial effects that may also improve cardiac risk, and that may turn out to be even more important than their cholesterol-reducing properties.
Most people think of statins primarily as cholesterol-lowering drugs. Statins improve blood cholesterol levels primarily by inhibiting a liver enzyme called HMG Co-A reductase, thus reducing the liver's ability to make cholesterol. Statins cause a significant reduction in LDL "bad" cholesterol levels, a moderate reduction in triglyceride levels, and a small increase in levels of HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol).

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• coronary
• artery
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• cholesterol