Atorvastatin improves myocardial perfusion in a patient with hypercholesterolemia and single-vessel coronary disease

Lipid-lowering agents may improve the prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) or with risk factors for atherosclerosis. A high dose of atorvastatin (80 mg/d) reduced the LDL cholesterol level in stable patients with CAD and was seen to be as effective as coronary angioplasty in reducing the incidence of ischemic events. In patients with acute coronary syndrome, high-dose atorvastatin (80 mg/d) has lowered the incidence of recurrent ischemic events and emergency rehospitalization. We demonstrated that long-term oral low-dose (10 mg/d) administration of atorvastatin improved myocardial uptake of Tc-99m tetrofosmin in a patient with single-vessel coronary artery disease normalizing the plasma level of LDL cholesterol. The normalization of the perfusion pattern was obtained using the same protocol and level of physical stress after 10 months of therapy.