CHICAGO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A study of Portuguese patients has found that statins, heart medicines aimed at lowering cholesterol, can limit the progression of heart valve disease.
Designed by Northwestern Memorial Hospital cardiologist Nalini Rajamannan, the study of 121 patients in Portugal found that the cholesterol-lowering drugs help to slow the progression of heart valve disease -- the second-leading cause of open heart surgery, the Chicago Sun-Times said.
Heart valve disease progressed half as slowly in the 61 patients who took the statin Crestor, in comparison to those who did not.
Rajamannan said the study's findings suggest that statins could eventually be proven to be an effective non-surgical treatment for heart valve disease.
The study's findings contradict a 2005 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which found that the drugs did little to limit the progression of valve disease.
Rajamannan told the Sun-Times the difference was likely due to the fact that the patients in the earlier study suffered from an advanced form of heart disease, and that it was too late for effective treatment.
