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Discontinuing Statins After Acute MI Doubles Risk of Death, Say Researchers MONTREAL -- August 27, 2008 -- Patients discontinuing statin medication following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) increase their risk of dying over the next year, according to a study published in the July 29 issue of the European Heart Journal. Stella Daskalopoulou, MD, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, and colleagues used data from the UK General Practice Research Database to identify patients who survived an AMI and were still alive 3 months later. They found that those who discontinued their statin medication were 88% more likely to die during the following year compared with those who had never been on the medication. "Patients who used statins before an AMI and continued to take them after were 16% less likely to die over the next year than those who never used them," said Dr. Daskalopoulou. "In the general population, the statin discontinuation rate within the first year of prescription is 30%. That's very high," she noted. "Because statins are preventative drugs, patients may not feel the immediate benefit of taking them and sometimes stop. However, it looks like this might be quite a dangerous practice after an AMI," Dr. Daskalopoulou added "Regardless of the mechanism or explanation, physicians should be careful when assessing each patient's medication needs … statins in particular should only be withdrawn after an AMI under close clinical supervision." SOURCE: McGill University E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version