RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: Atorvastatin can decrease cardiac injury after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We compared the effects of 80 and 40 mg of atorvastatin per day on the levels of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) after an isolated CABG. METHODS: This randomized single-blind parallel clinical trial enrolled 125 patients (mean age = 60.59 ± 8.37 years) who were candidates for elective isolated CABG at the Tehran Heart Center between May 2017 and December 2017. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups to receive either 80 mg (n = 62) or 40 mg of atorvastatin (n = 63) per day, 5 days before surgery. The levels of cTnT and CK-MB, used as myocardial injury markers, were measured at baseline and then at 8 and 24 hours after CABG. RESULTS: The levels of CK-MB and cTnT at baseline and at 8 and 24 hours following CABG were not significantly different between the two groups. Our repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the levels of CK-MB and cTnT increased significantly over time (P < .001). No significant interaction was observed between time and the atorvastatin dosage on the levels of either CK-MB (P = .159) or cTnT (P = .646). In addition, the between-group effects were not significant for CK-MB (P = .632) and cTnT (P = .126). CONCLUSION: The higher dose of atorvastatin (80 mg) did not exert a more protective effect than the standard dose of atorvastatin (40 mg) after CABG surgery.