OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of atorvastatin against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and its protective effect on liver and kidney functions.

METHODSTen-month-old Wistar rats were fed to the age of 20 months, and atorvastatin statins gavage was administered till 24 months. The rats were divided into high-dose statin group, small-dose statin group, aged control group and young control group. The myocardial ischemia-reperfusion model was established by ligating the coronary artery. The mortality, hemodynamic changes, infarct size and liver and kidney functions of the rats were recorded or measured.

RESULTSCompared with the aged control group, the young control group and high-dose statin group showed significantly lower mortality rate, reduced hemodynamic abnormalities, and smaller myocardial infarct size following myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (P<0.05). The liver and kidney functions of the young control group and high-dose statin group underwent no significant deterioration after myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, but those in the small-dose statin group and aged control group showed significant deteriorations (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONAtorvastatin offers protective effects on the heart, liver, and kidney in the event of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in aged rats.