Cholesterol lowering drugs also reduce risk of stroke

Studies on cholesterol-lowering drugs called reductase inhibitors (statin drugs), not only will these drugs help reduce your risk of heart attack, they may also reduce the risk of stroke as well.

People who take reductase inhibitors such as pravastatin, lovastatin, or simvastatin to lower their cholesterol either to prevent a heart attack or reduce the risk of a second one occurring, also get the added benefit of lowering their risk of stroke by 27% compared to those taking either a placebo or inactive medication.

Reductase inhibitors lower cholesterol levels by 20% to 40%. The analyses included data from 12 previously conducted studies involving over 20,000 people who take reductase inhibitors. The research was prompted by the need of scientists to examine data from a larger study in order to better determine the association between cholesterol lowering drugs and stroke.

Other methods of reducing heart attack risk also lower stroke risk. People who are able to get their high blood pressure under control reduce the risk of stroke by 40%; taking blood-clotting medication reduces the risk of stroke by 35%.

While scientists are not entirely clear as to why these medications help to lower stroke risk, they believe that the drugs may either reduce fatty plaques, or stabilize them, in arteries that supply blood to the brain. Approximately 70% of all strokes can be attributed to a blood clot that reduces the blood supply to the brain (ischemia). Of these ischemic strokes, about 12% are activated by a narrowing of arteries attributable to fatty plaques. The remaining 20% to 30% of all strokes are attributable to brain hemorrhages.