Among a group of heart failure patients who underwent angioplasty after suffering a Heart attack , those who took the drug simvastatin fared better over a one-year follow-up period than those who were not treated with the statin.

Those who took 40 milligrams of simvastatin per day were significantly less likely to die in the year following angioplasty than those that did not take simvastatin. They were also less likely to experience a recurrence of the blockage (restenosis).

Further, simvastatin users were considerably less likely to need a second angioplasty procedure and, at one year, the survival rate free of cardiac events was significantly higher in the simvastatin group than in the non-simvastatin group - roughly 80 percent 57 percent. The simvastatin group also saw a greater improvement in heart function.

Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently enough to meet the body’s needs. When the heart cannot properly fill up with blood or pump it out with enough force, fluid builds up in the lungs and throughout the body, leading to problems such as breathlessness, fatigue and swelling in the extremities.

The goal of Angioplasty  is to re-open clogged coronary arteries that feed the heart. To do this, a tiny balloon-tipped catheter is threaded into an easily accessed artery and then guided onward with x-ray monitoring until the tip reaches the blockage. Once in position, the balloon is inflated, effectively opening the artery and then the catheter is removed.

The current study shows that “patients suffering from heart attack and consequent heart pump failure can be improved after routine statin therapy, irrespective of their cholesterol level,” Dr. Myung Ho Jeong from Chonnam National University Hospital in Daegu, Korea told Reuters Health. In the study, only about half of the patients in each group had elevated lipid levels.

“Lipid profiles, several inflammatory markers, cardiac function, repeated requirement of treatment, and event free survival were remarkably improved with simvastatin therapy,” Myung said.

Thus, simvastatin “can be a good treatment” in addition to aspirin, and other drugs in heart failure patients who undergo angioplasty for a heart attack, the researcher concluded.

SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, March 1, 2005.