Forty-two RCTs were included (n=121,285, range 71 to 20,536). Follow-up duration ranged from one to 6.1 years.
Patients who received statin therapy showed significant reductions for: all strokes (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.91; n=121,285, I2=0%); all-cause mortality (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.93; n=116,080, I2=25%); cardiovascular deaths (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.90; n=57,599, I2=21%) and non haemorrhagic cerebrovascular events (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.94; n=58,604, I2=49%).
Each unit increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) resulted in a 0.3% increased risk ratio of death (p=0.02).