Let’s start by understanding what cholesterol and stroke are. Cholesterol is a type of fat in your blood. Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) is a “bad” cholesterol.
If you have too much of it, it can stick to your blood vessels and block them.
A stroke happens when part of your brain doesn’t get enough blood. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.
An ischemic stroke happens when a blood vessel in your brain is blocked. A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a blood vessel in your brain bursts, causing bleeding.
Some people have a medicine called a statin to lower their LDL-C levels. These medicines are often used by people who have had an ischemic stroke to avoid having another one.
But how much should they lower their LDL-C? A group of scientists in Taiwan decided to investigate this.
The Study
Dr. Meng Lee, from Chang Gung University College of Medicine in Chiayi, Taiwan, and his team looked at data from 11 different studies.
These studies involved 20,163 patients who had an ischemic stroke and were given statins. They were watched on average for four years to see what happened.
What They Found
The team found out that patients who had stronger statin therapy, which means they lowered their LDL-C levels more, were less likely to have another ischemic stroke.
About 8.1 out of 100 of these patients had another stroke, compared to 9.3 out of 100 who had less strong statin therapy.
Also, patients who had stronger statin therapy were less likely to have major problems with their heart and blood vessels.
But they were more likely to have a hemorrhagic stroke, the type where a blood vessel in the brain bursts.
The team also looked at whether patients had something called atherosclerosis. This is when LDL-C sticks to the blood vessels and makes them hard.
Patients with atherosclerosis who had stronger statin therapy were less likely to have another ischemic stroke. But this wasn’t true for patients who didn’t have atherosclerosis.
What It Means for Patients
Other experts who wrote about this study said that doctors should aim to lower the LDL-C levels of stroke patients to below 70 mg/dL.
This is especially true for patients who have had an ischemic stroke and also have atherosclerosis. But doctors also need to be aware of the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.
Conclusion
This study shows how important it is to balance the risks and benefits of medicines. While stronger statin therapy can help prevent another ischemic stroke, it can also increase the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke.
Doctors need to consider this when treating their patients. It also shows that more research is needed to understand the best way to use medicines like statins.
If you care about stroke, please read studies about strong links between vitamin D and heart disease, stroke, and death, and Olive oil could help lower risks of heart disease and stroke.
For more information about stroke, please read studies about better high blood pressure treatment for people with stroke, and salt substitutes can reduce risks of heart attack, stroke and death.
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