Review: statins reduce non-fatal and fatal strokes in patients with and without coronary heart disease
Q In patients with and without coronary heart disease (CHD), what are the effects of lipid lowering interventions (statins, fibrates, resins, n-3 fatty acids, and diet) for preventing non-fatal and fatal strokes?
METHODS
Data sources:
Medline, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Pascal, and Index Medicus (all from inception to August 2002); Cochrane Library (searched August 2002); bibliographies of relevant articles; and contact with investigators.
Study selection and assessment:
randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in any language that compared dietary or pharmaceutical lipid lowering interventions with placebo or usual diet, had follow up ⩾6 months, and had data on non-fatal and fatal strokes and total mortality. Exclusion criteria: trials of only patients with previous stroke, lipid lowering interventions with obvious adverse events, or outdated interventions. Quality …
