A Study Of The Usage Of Statins In A Community Heart Failure Population

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2008-01-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Inflammation and fibrosis may be important contributors to worsening heart failure. As well as lowering cholesterol, statins are also known to reduce inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein which are elevated in severe heart failure. Therefore, this project will evaluate the benefit, if any, of statins on markers of heart structure and function, on inflammatory markers and markers of fibrosis in patients with normal cholesterol.

• Phase: Phase 4
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: St Vincent's University Hospital, Ireland
• Collaborators: University College Cork; University College Dublin; University of Dublin, Trinity College
• Treatments: Atorvastatin; Atorvastatin Calcium

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Mild to moderate HF (NYHA class II-III) of any aetiology and documented left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF < 45%) by echocardiography within 3 months of randomization. These patients were clinically stable, on optimal HF medical therapy which had remained unaltered for at least four weeks prior to recruitment. All had normal fasting total cholesterol.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those receiving lipid lowering agents; those with absolute or relative contraindications to statins; those with known chronic inflammatory conditions; patients with medical conditions requiring anti-inflammatory or immuno-suppressive therapies.