The Safety and Benefit of Statins in Liver Cirrhosis: A Review

Abstract

Dyslipidemia is a primary, major risk factor for coronary artery disease CAD. The prevalence of dyslipidemia had decreased over the past 30 years, which may in part be explained by the steady increase in the use of lipid-lowering drug therapy, especially statins. Cardiovascular risk has been shown to be greater in liver disease (20% in the liver cirrhosis vs. 12% in the general population), where statins can play an important role as a primary and secondary prevention for CAD. Given patients with chronic liver disease, especially liver cirrhosis are at risk of decreased hepatic clearance, there is concern that this patient population may be at higher risk for complications from statin therapy. Several retrospective studies showed that statin use in chronic liver disease and cirrhosis is safe, and even it was associated with lower mortality and lower rate of hepatic decompensation. This review discusses the safety and the different mechanisms where statins can decrease the rate of complications in liver cirrhosis, including portal hypertension, sepsis and the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma.