Rosuvastatin and atorvastatin are two widely prescribed statin medications used to lower “bad” (LDL) cholesterol levels, recommended for individuals with coronary artery disease.
A new study has compared these two statins to determine their effectiveness in preventing heart attacks, strokes, and death in people with coronary artery disease.
The study analyzed data from the LODESTAR clinical trial, involving 4,400 adults with coronary artery disease.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive either rosuvastatin or atorvastatin for three years, with the trial conducted from September 2016 to November 2019.
The researchers aimed to assess differences in outcomes between the two statins, including all-cause mortality, heart attacks, strokes, and coronary revascularization procedures.
The study revealed the following key findings:
Similar Clinical Outcomes:
No discernible differences were observed between the two groups for all-cause death, heart attacks, strokes, or coronary revascularization.
Cholesterol Levels:
Rosuvastatin treatment resulted in lower average LDL cholesterol levels compared to atorvastatin.
Diabetes Risk:
Participants taking rosuvastatin had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes requiring medication compared to those on atorvastatin.
Cataract Surgery:
The rosuvastatin group had a higher rate of cataract surgery compared to the atorvastatin group.
The study concluded that rosuvastatin and atorvastatin demonstrated comparable efficacy in preventing a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or coronary revascularization within a three-year period.
Although rosuvastatin achieved lower LDL cholesterol levels, it was associated with a higher risk of new-onset diabetes requiring medication and cataract surgery compared to atorvastatin.
However, it’s essential to interpret these findings with caution, considering the study’s limitations, such as the inclusion of only Asian participants and the relatively short three-year follow-up period.
Further dedicated research with longer-term observations is needed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of these two statin medications.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer, and results showing DASH diet is good for your blood pressure, and a vegetable diet may reduce heart disease risk.
The research findings can be found in BMJ.
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