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STUDY BY RESEARCHERS AT LDS HOSPITAL FINDS NEW, POTENTIALLY
LIFE-SAVING BENEFITS OF CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING DRUGS
SALT LAKE CITY -- A group of drugs that have been used commonly for the past five years to successfully lower cholesterol levels in people at risk for coronary artery disease may do more than just lower cholesterol -- they may also provide a previously undocumented life-saving, anti-inflammatory effect for many patients, according to a new study by cardiac researchers at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.
The three-year study of nearly 1,000 patients at Intermountain Health Care's LDS Hospital is the first study to link cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins with significantly lower mortality in patients with an infectious virus in their bloodstream known as cytomeglaovirus or CMV.
The LDS Hospital research team presented results of the study on Wednesday, November 10, at the American Heart Association's national 72nd scientific session in Atlanta.
"What we found is that statin therapy reduced mortality in all patients, but that it had an especially profound effect in reducing mortality in patients who had this virus in their bloodstream," says Joseph B. Muhlestein, MD, director of LDS Hospital's research cardiac catheterization laboratory.
Dr. Muhlestein says these findings build on earlier research by the LDS Hospital cardiac team that found that heart-disease patients with elevated levels of CMV -- a common herpes-related respiratory virus -- were at higher risk for death than patients who had not been exposed to the virus. By age 65, researchers estimate more than 70 percent of all people have been exposed to the virus at some point in their life.
"That study identified a population of patients who were at higher risk for death. This study goes a step further to look at possible treatment options for these patients who are at a greater risk to die than patients who don't have the virus in their bloodstream," says Dr. Muhlestein. "Not only do these findings help us better understand the process of heart disease and the role of inflammation and infectious agents in the development of this deadly disease, if proven successful, it may very well save a lot of lives, especially since these drugs are already on the market."
The study of 975 heart patients, who were treated at LDS Hospital from 1994 through 1997, found that statin drug therapy reduced the death rate by 63 percent in patients with the virus compared to 30 percent in patients who did not have the virus.
More study is needed to determine the specific mechanisms, but it seems the statins may protect against inflammation in the arteries or vessel walls that are caused by infectious agents, says Dr. Muhlestein.
"This again points to the hypothesis that coronary artery disease may be more about inflammation, infectious viruses, and injury to the vessel walls than just lipid or cholesterol levels," he says.
This study is the latest research by the cardiac team at LDS Hospital to show a growing role between infectious agents such as viruses and bacteria and the formation and treatment of coronary artery disease, the leading killer in the Western World. The possibility was raised three years ago in a study by Dr. Muhlestein and his team that found the presence of a bacteria, Chlamydia pneumoniae, in the majority of heart disease patients who had atherosclerotic plaque, the substance that causes blockages in the coronary arteries and leads to a heart attack.
Members of the LDS Hospital research team include: Benjamin D. Horne; Muhlestein; John F. Carlquist; Troy E. Madsen; Tami L. Bair; Robert R. Pearson; and Jeffrey L. Anderson.
LDS Hospital, which serves as a cardiac referral center for heart patients from six states, is one of the leading cardiac research and treatment centers in the country. IHC is a charitable, community-owned, nonprofit health care organization based in Salt Lake City that serves the health needs of Utah and Idaho residents.
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