What is the recommendation for patients with ischemic stroke who qualify for statin treatment?
For patients with AIS who qualify for statin treatment, in-hospital initiation of statin therapy is reasonable. IIa C-LD New recommendation. Statins have an established role in secondary stroke prevention and harbor promise in improving index stroke A retrospective cohort study that assessed 3-month treatment adherence rates after in-hospital initiation of statins in patients with ischemic stroke showed a high rate of adherence to statin therapy 3 months after hospital discharge.387 A meta-analysis of primarily observational studies found that in-hospital statin use was associated with good functional outcomes.388 Withdrawal of statins after ischemic stroke was associated with poor functional outcomes. There are limited published randomized trials examining the role of early statin use in AIS patients. FASTER (Fast Assessment of Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack to Prevent Early Recurrence) evaluated simvastatin 40 mg versus placebo in patients with a TIA or minor stroke within Because of slow enrollment, this trial was terminated early.