AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 AbstractNov 9, 2026, 01:44 GMT

Statin use linked to lower cardiovascular risk at high marker levels

Compared with nonuse, statin use was linked to a 35% lower relative cardiovascular event rate in adults in the highest third for an inflammation marker.

Paper by Anis Ismail, Christina G Hutten, Theresa Farhat, +3Salim Hayek · Univ of Texas Med Branch

A large heart with a small damaged patch sits beside a smaller, more scarred heart, both surrounded by blood cells and dark protein clusters.

Our read

Biomarkers

Studied:: Cohort study of 3,914 adults initially free of cardiovascular disease, against statin nonusers
What changed:: The cardiovascular event rate was 35% lower with statin use versus nonuse in adults with the highest marker levels
The catch:: Differences in health or medical care could explain the association with statin use

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper

The 4,637 adults in this observational cohort had no cardiovascular disease at enrollment; their average age was 63, and 51.4% were women. Researchers measured an inflammation-related blood marker called soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor and tracked heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths for a median 15.7 years. The statin analysis included 3,914 people who were not taking statins at enrollment.

Statin use was associated with fewer events in the highest third of marker levels, but no detectable benefit in the other two thirds. A model estimated a 10-year absolute risk reduction of 5.6 percentage points in the highest third. It estimated a 12.4% event rate even if everyone in that group took statins.

Why it matters

Preventing cardiovascular disease as people age involves understanding inflammatory risk that remains despite statins. The authors proposed this inflammatory pathway as a target for additional anti-inflammatory therapies.

Caveats

Statin use was not randomized, so differences in health or medical care could have contributed to the association; evidence that associations differed across marker groups was uncertain. These conference-abstract findings concerned adults without cardiovascular disease at enrollment.