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Statins in Intracerebral Hemorrhage

  • Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke (S Prabhakaran, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

While statins play an indisputable role in primary and secondary prevention of ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, a concern exists regarding a possible association between low lipoprotein levels and statin use on the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). While these data may incline physicians to discontinue statins after ICH, an increasing amount of preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that statins might have a beneficial effect on outcome and recovery in this context that goes beyond lipid lowering effects. Different etiologies of ICH and the related risk of recurrence should also be taken into account when deciding about statin use/avoidance in patients with high risk of ICH. The problem is compounded by paucity of data from randomized controlled trials and well-designed prospective observational studies. This review will discuss the existing evidence on potential interactions between statins and risk of ICH as well as outcomes in order to provide practical recommendations for clinical decision-making.

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Acknowledgments

Study Support: This work was made possible by the following NIH grants: K23 NS083711, R01 NS070834, R01 AG026484.

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ᅟ

Conflict of Interest

A Lauer, SM Greenberg, and ME Gurol all declare no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All cited studies by M. Edip Gurol and Steven M. Greenberg involving human subjects were performed after approval by the appropriate institutional review boards. When required, written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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  1. Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital - Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Arne Lauer, Steven M. Greenberg & M. Edip Gurol

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  1. Arne Lauer
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  2. Steven M. Greenberg
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  3. M. Edip Gurol
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Correspondence to M. Edip Gurol.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

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Lauer, A., Greenberg, S.M. & Gurol, M.E. Statins in Intracerebral Hemorrhage. Curr Atheroscler Rep 17, 46 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-015-0526-5

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