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Medical researchers have developed new guidelines for statin use during surgery. According to their estimates, patients treated with statins before and after coronary bypass surgery fare better than statin-free patients.
Traditionally, before and after coronary bypass surgery, patients who suffered from heart disease were taken off the statins. This procedure was quite common, surgeons thinking that certain complications may arise during the procedure if this type of medication was employed.
Statin Usage Linked with Fewer Side Effects
But according to a new study conducted by several medical researchers, hailing from Florida’s University and the Cleveland Clinic, the benefits of using statin in the pre- and post-operative periods clearly outweigh the risks.
Moreover, according to their appraisal of the situation, the odds of a patient developing the risk mid-surgery due to statin use are marginal.
Following their study, new guidelines for statin use during surgery will be implemented in the nearby future. The paper has been published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery and will soon be used by the surgeons preparing to complete this sort of operation.
In order to discover the outcome of this event, the medical researchers examined over 21 studies on using statins in the pre- and post-operative periods. In each case, the doctors had to compare the benefits with the risk involved when using this type of substance.
On Statins and Heart Events
The study intimately interlocked with several clinical observation has determined that using statins during coronary artery bypass grafting surgery can decrease the incidence of atrial fibrillation. Moreover, by using the traditional cholesterol-lowering medicine, the surgeons performing this kind of operations can reap the benefits of its anti-inflammatory properties.
Statin, as an anti-inflammatory agent, used mid-surgery is capable of countering the damaging effects of prorogued exposure to anesthesia.
More Research Needed to Prove the Benefits of Statins
Islam Elgendy, a medical researcher working on the project, made a few statements regarding the new study. The doctor stressed out that statins, besides countering the effects of anesthesia and decreasing the incidence of atrial fibrillation, are also capable of decreasing the odds of patient’s death during surgery.
Unfortunately, before the study can be turned into a full-fledged medical directive, it needs more research detailing the use of statins before and after surgery. Among the benefits of using this group of drugs are decreased chances of succumbing during surgery, lower odds of suffering from atrial fibrillation and little side effects from anesthesia.
Moreover, the study also managed to point out that using statins in the pre- and post-operative periods could significantly lower the odds of a patient suffering from brain strokes, heart strokes, and kidney failure.
Medical researchers are working on new guidelines for statin use during surgery, a drug which is believed to have more benefits than risks.
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