High-Dose Statins Should Be Used in All Acute Ischemic Strokes

This case raises several questions: (1) Is the role for statins in acute ischemic stroke to improve outcome, to reduce the chances of a recurrent stroke, or both? (2) Do the benefits associated with high dose statin use extend across all stroke sub-types including catheter related stroke?Irrespective of the etiology of ischemic stroke, use of statins has been associated with reduced infarct size and a more favorable outcome.1 This is reinforced by our own observations that statins given within 4 weeks of stroke onset improve stroke outcome at 90 days compared with subjects not given statins. The benefits were more pronounced in statin-na|fkve patients who received statins early on after the stroke as compared with patients on statins before stroke onset. Furthermore, the benefits extended across all stroke types including cardioembolic stroke.2,3Similarly, using the Kaiser Permanente …