Preprocedural statin therapy reduces the risk and extent of cardiac biomarker release following percutaneous coronary intervention

This study evaluates the association between statin therapy in patients treated by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for stable angina pectoris and postinterventional myocardial injury with subsequent long-term clinical outcome. Prospectively collected data on 400 consecutive patients with stable angina pectoris or evidence of inducible myocardial ischemia were analyzed. The incidence of myocardial infarction based on postinterventional release of troponin 1 > 1.5ng/ml was 12% in the statin pretreated patients and 20% in those not pretreated with statin therapy (P = 0.04, odds ratio 1.84, 95% confidence interval 1.06-3.21). Of the patients experiencing a post-PCI troponin elevation > 1.5ng/ml, those pretreated with a statin pre-PCI had a lesser troponin elevation compared with those not receiving a statin pre-PCI (median: 2.9ng/ml [1.9-11.5] vs 5.0ng/ml [3.1-8.8]; P < 0.001). In the multivariate model, preprocedural statin therapy was identified as the only independent negative predictor of procedure-related myocardial necrosis based on postprocedural troponin elevation. In the 21-month follow-up period, statin pretreated patients were observed to have fewer deaths, revascularizations, or myocardial infarction; however, this difference was not statistically significant. These results suggest that pretreatment with statins in patients undergoing PCI for stable angina pectoris reduces the risk and extent of procedure-related myocardial injury measured by troponin release.