Low Cholesterol Levels Unlikely to Cause Hemorrhagic Strokes

Prior studies had linked the use of statins with a higher incidence of hemorrhagic strokes. Specifically, the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels Study (SPARCL) had reported that a small but significant number of patients developed hemorrhagic strokes due to statin treatment. Originally the results were surprising, and the question was raised whether the culprit of these hemorrhagic strokes could be the statin treatment itself, or the resulting low cholesterol levels. An answer to this important question has began to emerge.

A recent re-analysis of the SPARCL data shows that there was no association between LDL levels and hemorrhagic stroke in those patients, suggesting that the increased risk of stroke in that study was not due to low cholesterol levels. Although a larger, prospective study is needed to prove this more definitively, a more likely reason for the increased risk of stroke appears to be that statins themselves might have an effect on people who have an as yet undiscovered predisposition to suffer hemorrhagic strokes.

As it is usual practice in this blog, I'll close by saying that more research is needed to bring full closure to this important issue.