Patients taking Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) 80 mg who had a prior stroke reduced their risk of an additional stroke by 16% and major coronary events, such as heart attack, cardiac death or resuscitated cardiac arrest, by 35 % compared to placebo, claims a new study.
Data from the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The SPARCL trial, funded by Pfizer, monitored 4,731 patients for an average of five years.
Patients had no history of heart disease and had experienced a stroke or TIA within six months prior to trial enrollment.
Participants had mildly elevated cholesterol levels, and were treated with either Lipitor (80 mg) or placebo.
Patients taking Lipitor experienced a 22% reduction in the risk of ischemic stroke.
There were more patients in the Lipitor group who experienced hemorrhagic stroke (2.3%) compared to patients taking placebo (1.4%).
There was no difference in the number of deaths from hemorrhagic stroke between the two treatment groups.
A review of the Lipitor clinical program, involving more than 10,000 patients with coronary heart disease taking Lipitor 80 mg, showed the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke was very low (0.3%).
Dr Michael Welch, president of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, said: “This is important information for physicians because patients who have had a stroke are at much greater risk for suffering another one.
“Patients taking Lipitor in this trial showed a significant reduction in stroke and coronary events.
This is impressive when you consider that the majority of patients were already being treated with medications such as blood thinning and blood pressure lowering medications that are often given to reduce stroke risk.”
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