Statins improve survival in patients with cardioembolic stroke

Background and Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the potential benefits of statin therapy on mortality and stroke recurrence after cardioembolic stroke. METHODS-: In this retrospective observational study, we analyzed data from 535 patients with first-ever cardioembolic stroke. Patients were classified into nonstatin, low-potency statin, and high-potency statin groups. The primary outcomes were time to mortality and time to recurrent stroke. RESULTS-: The mean duration of follow-up was 22.2 months. The cumulative mortality rate was 7% at the end of the first year and 10% at the end of the third year. Statin therapy was independently associated with reduced mortality (hazard ratio, 0.237; 95% confidence interval, 0.080-0.703 for nonstatin versus low-potency statin; hazard ratio, 0.158; 95% confidence interval, 0.037-0.686 for nonstatin versus high-potency statin). Statin treatment did not affect the incidence of recurrent stroke in patients with cardioembolic stroke. CONCLUSIONS-: Statin therapy could be associated with reduced mortality in patients with cardioembolic stroke.