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Statins are a cornerstone of cardiovascular disease prevention. Most clinicians recommend discontinuing these drugs during pregnancy because of their FDA Category X status (risk for fetal abnormalities outweighs potential benefits of use). However, postmarketing surveillance has not indicated that statins are teratogenic — and as one of the hydrophilic statins, pravastatin is unlikely to cross the placenta.
Preeclampsia, which complicates 3% to 5% of U.S. pregnancies, has many pathogenic similarities to cardiovascular disease. In a recent study, pravastatin restored angiogenic balance without apparent harm in a rodent model of preeclampsia. Now, 128 women in the U.K. have been enrolled in a proof-of-concept study of pravastatin's ability to …