Statins and secondary prevention of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

To the Editor: Identification of patients who benefit from statin treatment after an acute cerebrovascular event is still a matter of debate. The Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) study was designed to address this question, and it showed that statins exert a marginally beneficial effect on stroke prevention in patients with a history of ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, or hemorrhagic stroke.1 Moreover, an increased occurrence of hemorrhagic stroke in patients on statins treatment was observed, in particular in patients with a history of hemorrhagic stroke. To confirm SPARCL data, Vergouwen and colleagues performed a systematic review focused on the effect of statin treatment on the occurrence of ischemic and …