Higher strength statins do not increase risk of kidney injury

American Heart Association Emerging Science Series Report

2013-06-20

(Press-News.org) A higher strength of cholesterol-lowering drugs, or statins, did not increase the risk of kidney injury among heart attack survivors, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Emerging Science Series Webinar. Statins have been shown to reduce the risk of a first or recurrent heart attack, but recent observational studies suggest that high doses may be linked to a higher incidence of kidney injury. In this study, researchers analyzed data from two large clinical trials in which survivors were randomly assigned to receive either high- or low-dose statins. Higher strenght statins did not increase the risk of hospitalizations with kidney injury when compared to low-dose statins. In addition, concentrations of a blood protein, called creatinine, which reflects kidney function were comparable between the two groups during follow-up. "These findings provide important reassurance to clinicians that the use of some high-potency statins will not increase the risk of kidney injury," said Amy Sarma, M.D., M.H.S., the study's lead author and a resident physician in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass. ### The study data were obtained from two trials with more than 4,000 participants each – the PROVE IT-TIMI 22, and the A-to-Z Trial. Co-authors are Christopher P. Cannon, M.D.; Stephen D. Wiviott, M.D.; Marc S. Sabatine, M.D., M.P.H.; Marc A. Pfeffer, M.D., Ph.D.; Elaine B. Hoffman. Ph.D.; Jianping Guo, M.A.S. and James A. de Lemos, M.D. The senior author was Michelle L. O'Donoghue, M.D., M.P.H. Author disclosures are on the abstract. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sankyo funded the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 study. Merck funded the A-to-Z trial. For the latest heart and stroke news, follow @HeartNews on Twitter. Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals or presented at American Heart Association conferences are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association's policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at http://www.heart.org/corporatefunding.

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Higher strength statins do not increase risk of kidney injury

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