Review: Lipids and stroke Published by:

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in adults.Although vascular disease is the prime contributorto its pathogenesis, dyslipidaemia is not unambiguously established as a risk factor for stroke in the same way that it is for coronary artery disease. Non-statin treatments of dyslipidaemia have not been shown clearly to help in preventing stroke. However, large clinical trials of treatment with statins over a number of years have demonstrated that these drugs decrease ischaemic stroke rates in persons at risk. Whether this reflects the efficacy of statins in lowering low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c) concentrations alone or whether additional mechanisms may apply is not clear. Br J Diabetes Vasc Dis 2003;3:170–