Atorvastatin Therapy May Reduce the Incidence of Sudden Cardiac Death in Patients With Advanced Chronic Heart Failure

Effect of Atorvastatin vs. Rosuvastatin on Cardiac Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Non-Diabetic Patients With Dilated Cardiomyopathy

“…Although recent prospective studies (CORONA, GISSI-HF) 4,5 using hydrophilic rosuvastatin showed no beneficial effect on mortality, Vrtovec et al reported that atorvastatin therapy reduced the incidence of sudden cardiac death in patients with advanced CHF. 25 As cardiac 123 I-MIBG imaging may predict sudden death in patients with CHF, 26 our findings of improvement in cardiac 123 I-MIBG imaging may support the underlying mechanism described by Vrtovec et al 25 Regarding the effects of statins on LVEF, Krum et al reported that hydrophilic rosuvastatin therapy had no effect on LVEF, 27 which is consistent with our findings. Several studies have reported that lipophilic atorvastatin therapy induced a significant increase in LVEF.…”

Prognostic Impact of Statin Use in Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction

“…30 They further demonstrated in another study that atorvastatin therapy was associated with decreased incidence of sudden cardiac death in patients with advanced HF. 31 However, the effect on sudden cardiac death has never been reported in patients with HFpEF, regardless of study design or study sample size. Thus, our finding is clinically important in showing an association between stain use and reduced incidence of sudden death in HFpEF.…”

“…It is conceivable that statin treatment was associated with a decrease in ventricular late potentials, resulting in a reduced incidence of fatal cardiac arrhythmia. 29- 31 In addition, statin treatment has been reported to reduce acute coronary events possibly related to plaque stabilization, improvement of endothelial and platelet functions, and reduction of neutrophil infiltration. 32 Thus, there is a possibility that the reduced incidence of sudden death in HFpEF patients treated with statins might be attributed to fewer acute coronary events.…”

Management of arrhythmias in heart failure. What a practicing physician should know in the current times

“…However, its side effect profile needs to be closely monitored. Atorvastatin therapy was associated with decreased incidence of SCD in patients with advanced chronic HF [72]. However, larger on-going studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.…”