Using statins in patients with heart failure reduces the risk of dementia by 20% and the risk of Alzheimer’s by 28%. This has been shown by a study published in the journal. Lancet Regional Health.
Scientists analyzed data from more than one hundred thousand heart failure patients in Hong Kong. Half of them were taking statin drugs, which lower blood cholesterol levels. The average age of the participants was 74 years. Over the course of the decade, 2,250 developed Alzheimer’s disease, 1,831 developed vascular dementia and 5,950 developed another form of dementia.
The rate of dementia among statin users was 7.3 percent, and among those who did not use it was 11 percent. After controlling for other patient characteristics, the analysis found that statins reduced the risk of overall dementia by 20% and the risk of death from any cause by 30%. The drugs were particularly effective at preventing Alzheimer’s disease: They reduced the relative risk by 28%.
Previous studies have shown that taking statins can significantly reduce the risk of dementia. The new study confirms these findings and extends them to patients with heart failure.
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