Statin loading is now the standard of care, based on results from a fourth report documenting the safety and efficacy of early initiation of statin treatment in patients not already on a statin. The final question is the optimal statin dosage.
Findings from another study showed that loading a patient already on a daily statin regimen with two extra doses of atorvastatin during the 12 hours preceding a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) worked better than relying on the patient's background statin level, especially in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). But this first test of such a reloading strategy was limited to about 350 patients, and the results were judged too preliminary to immediately change practice, said Dr. Germano Di Sciascio, professor of cardiology at the Bio-Medico University in Rome and lead investigator on the statin redosing study.
In contrast, statin loading is now established for patients who have not been on a steady regimen prior to their PCI.
