Background: Statin therapy can reduce long-term mortality in several subgroups of patients with coronary artery disease, but the benefits after primary angioplasty for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have yet to be established. Thus the aim of the current study was to determine whether statin therapy is associated with a reduction in mortality in patients with STEMI treated with primary angioplasty.
Methods: Our population is represented by a total of 1513 consecutive in-hospital survivors treated with primary angioplasty for STEMI between April 1997 and October 2001. Patients were divided into two groups according to statin therapy (statin group, n=893; control group, n=620) at discharge. Clinical follow-up was performed at one year. Multivariate analysis was performed including a propensity score for statin use.
Results: At one-year follow-up statin therapy was associated with a significantly lower mortality (1.2 vs. 71.%, RR [95% CI] 0.16 [0.09-0.32], p<0.0001). Also at multivariate analysis, including the propensity score, statin therapy was associated with a significant mortality reduction (adjusted RR [95% CI] 0.24 [0.12-0.47], p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Statin therapy at discharge was associated with a significant reduction in one-year mortality after primary angioplasty for STEMI. Therefore, the use of statins after STEMI is highly recommended.
Keywords: ST segment; angioplasty; mortality; myocardial infarction; statins.