Abstract
Statins are effective drugs for treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Besides their lipid-lowering properties, statins act through multiple pleiotropic effects including vasoprotective mechanisms, effects on coagulation, anti-inflammatory properties and stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques. In recent years many studies have investigated the effects of statins administered to patients in the perioperative period. Results indicate that the perioperative use of statins is beneficial, most of all for patients with a high cardiovascular risk profile. However, most study designs are retrospective and vulnerable to systematic bias. The number of randomized controlled trials is very limited and include only low numbers of patients. Currently it is not known when perioperative treatment with statin should be started and how long it should be continued postoperatively to reach optimal protective effects. A pre-existing statin therapy should be continued perioperatively because discontinuation leads to a higher rate of complications in the perioperative period. Larger randomized controlled trials are therefore necessary to evaluate the efficiency and the safety of perioperative statin use, especially for patients with a low or intermediate cardiovascular risk profile.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
