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Many physicians were taught that lipid measurements, in the days after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), were unreliable because total cholesterol and calculated LDL cholesterol levels drop early after ACS. Now, investigators have studied 507 ACS patients who were enrolled in a manufacturer-funded, randomized trial of a statin.
Serum lipid levels were measured directly on days 1, 2, and 4 before statins were started. Mean LDL cholesterol levels decreased from 136.2 mg/dL to 133.5 mg/dL, then rose to 141.8 by day 4 — a statistically significant change. HDL cholesterol levels showed similar trends, with means of 39.1 mg/dL, 38.6 mg/dL, and 39.6 mg/dL at days 1, 2, and 4, respectively. The authors concluded that statistically significant, but n…