Cardioprotection with intravenous statin administration during myocardial infarction vs. oral preloading : a preclinical study
Otero, Sergi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Radikė, Monika (Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital)
Ben-Aicha Gonzalez, Soumaya (Imperial College London (Londres, Regne Unit))
Mendieta, Guiomar (Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Barcelona, Catalunya))
Gutiérrez, Manuel (Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital)
Sutelman, Pablo (Institut de Recerca Sant Pau)
Borrell-Pages, Maria (Institut de Recerca Sant Pau)
Hidalgo, Alberto (Hospital Universitari de Girona Doctor Josep Trueta)
Badimon, Lina (Institut de Recerca Sant Pau)
Vilahur, Gemma (Institut de Recerca Sant Pau)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	Infarct size is associated with all-cause mortality and heart failure hospitalization underscoring the need for effective cardioprotection beyond timely reperfusion. 1 Guidelines recommend administering high-potency statins early after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in order to reduce LDL-cholesterol levels as soon as possible. 2 However, statins may provide clinical benefits in acute coronary syndrome patients beyond lipid-lowering effects. We have demonstrated in hypercholesterolaemic pigs through cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and molecular/histological analyses that intravenous administration of a modified preparation of atorvastatin (i. v. -atorvastatin) during myocardial infarction (MI) limits ischaemia-related cardiac damage3,4 with a legacy effect that attenuates subsequent myocardial injury and preserves cardiac function during reinfarction. 5 In addition, we have shown that this i. v. -atorvastatin approach exerts higher cardioprotective effects than those observed when atorvastatin is orally administered early after reperfusion. 4 Furthermore, this new cardioprotective strategy is effective in the presence of comorbidities such as diabetic cardiomyopathy. 6 However, it remains unknown whether i. v. -atorvastatin during ongoing MI provides superior cardioprotection compared to oral preloading therapy. Here we test this hypothesis in a highly translatable hypercholesterolaemic pig model using CMR.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2021-128891OB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PLEC2021-007664 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PCI2023-143431 Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-01006 Fundació la Marató de TV3 20154310
Rights:	Aquest material està protegit per drets d'autor i/o drets afins. Podeu utilitzar aquest material en funció del que permet la legislació de drets d'autor i drets afins d'aplicació al vostre cas. Per a d'altres usos heu d'obtenir permís del(s) titular(s) de drets.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Statins ; Cardioprotection ; Pig ; Infarct size ; CMR
Published in:	European heart journal, April 2026, art. ehag269, ISSN 1522-9645

DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehag269

Available from: 2027-04-30 Postprint 9 p, 243.1 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles