Statin-based therapy for primary and secondary prevention of ischemic stroke: A meta-analysis and critical overview

Background and aims: To reassess the effect of statin-based lipid-lowering therapy on ischemic stroke in primary and secondary prevention trials with regard to achieved levels of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in view of the availability of novel potent hypolipidemic agents.

Methods: English literature was searched (up to November 2018) for publications restricted to trials with a minimum enrolment of 1000 and 500 subjects for primary and secondary prevention, respectively, meeting the following criteria: adult population, randomized controlled design, and recorded outcome data on ischemic stroke events. Data were meta-analyzed and curve-estimation procedure was applied to estimate regression statistics and produce related plots.

Results: Four primary prevention trials and four secondary prevention trials fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Lipid-lowering therapy was associated with a lower risk of ischemic stroke in primary (risk ratio, RR 0.70, 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.60-0.82; p < 0.001) and in the secondary prevention setting (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.70-0.90; p < 0.001). Curve-estimation procedure revealed a linear relationship between the absolute risk reduction of ischemic stroke and active treatment-achieved low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels in secondary prevention (adjusted R-square 0.90) in support of "the lower the better" hypothesis for stroke survivors. On the other hand, the cubic model followed the observed data well in primary prevention (adjusted R-square 0.98), indicating greater absolute risk reduction in high-risk cardiovascular disease-free individuals.

Conclusions: Statin-based lipid-lowering is effective both for primary and secondary prevention of ischemic stroke. Most benefit derives from targeting disease-free individuals at high cardiovascular risk, and by achieving low treatment targets for low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol in stroke survivors.