Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Help Prevent Recurrent Strokes in Younger People

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Help Prevent Recurrent Strokes in Younger People
Monday, August 1, 2011

American Academy of Neurology

New research indicates cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins may help prevent future strokes among young people who have already had a stroke. The study is published in the August 2, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Because the cause of stroke in young people can be hard to identify, cholesterol-lowering drugs are often not used to prevent further strokes or vascular problems," said study author Jukka Putaala, MD, PhD, with the Helsinki University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland. "This study suggests that the drugs should be considered even when the cause of the stroke is unknown and the cholesterol levels are not high."

For the study, researchers looked at the medical records of 215 people between the ages of 15 and 49 who experienced a first stroke called an ischemic stroke and were then followed for an average of nine years.