Abstract

Chronic inflammation is a key feature of vascular disease states such as atherosclerosis. Multiple clinical studies have shown that a class of medications termed statins lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Originally developed to lower serum cholesterol, increasing evidence suggests that these medications have potent anti-inflammatory effects that contribute to their beneficial effects in patients. Here, we discuss the clinical and experimental evidence underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of these agents.

Author affiliations

1. Program in Cardiovascular Transcriptional Biology, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
2. Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, LeDuq Center for Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology and Harvard-Reynolds Center for Cardiovascular Research, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 900 Commonwealth Avenue East, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.

Correspondence to: Paul M. Ridker² Email: pridker@partners.org

Published online 24 November 2005

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