In this study, fifteen patients with angiographically documented stable coronary artery disease (CAD) were prospectively treated with 40 mg of atorvastatin per day for 4 weeks. Statin treatment resulted in a 3-fold increase of circulating bone marrow–derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) after four 4 weeks of treatment.
These results define a novel mechanism of action in statin treatment for patients with stable CAD: the increase of circulating EPCs with enhanced functional activity, which are known to augment the neovascularization of ischemic tissue.
