Statins may help prevent blood clots

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins may prevent blood clots in patients with cardiovascular disease, U.S. researchers found.

The study, presented in San Diego at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, found patients not receiving statins were three times as likely to develop venous thromboembolism than patients receiving statins -- 26.3 percent versus 8.3 percent.

"Research has indicated an association between atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis," Dr. Danai Khemasuwan of the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia said in a statement.

"However, in our study, statin therapy demonstrated a protective effect on this group of patients, reducing their overall incidence of developing venous thromboembolism."

Khemasuwan, the lead author, and colleagues reviewed the cases of 593 patients -- mean age 67.8 -- admitted to the hospital for myocardial infarction -- heart attack -- or ischemic stroke. Of these, 73 percent were receiving statins, and the overall incidence of venous thromboembolism was 13 percent.