Eyewitness News
NEW YORK (WABC) -- You probably know someone who's taking a statin drug to lower their cholesterol, to try and prevent a stroke or heart attack. But now, the statins are part of treatment, not just prevention.
Statins and another drug, progesterone, have been reported in several recent studies to make survival from strokes and other brain damage events more likely. But the statins have moved into current treatment fastest. Now, if patients are not already taking a statin, one will likely be started if doctors suspect a stroke.
Fifty-three year old Joe Lipton noticed some disturbing symptoms earlier this year while raking his yard.
Joe was having a T-I-A, the warning sign of a stroke. Tests at the hospital showed damage to the brain's blood supply. He had an emergency procedure to prevent a stroke. Immediately, doctors gave him a statin drug.
"Within twenty-four hours, I was on Lipitor," Lipton said.
Lipitor and other statins given during the hospital stay for a stroke can improve survival and recovery. Stroke patients already on these drugs had better survivals than if statins were stopped after hospitalization.
All this from pills meant to prevent strokes and heart attacks.
The idea of using these drugs up front when a patient's first having a stroke is a newer concept and makes you wonder what these drugs are doing besides preventing blockages in arteries," Dr. Keith Siller of NYC Langone Medical Center said.
There are certain drugs that treat one condition, but can serve double-duty when helping with another treatment.
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Treating strokes with cholesterol drugs