Patients with normal or low cholesterol levels have a decreased risk of heart attacks, strokes and death when they take cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to a new study. The research suggests these drugs protect against inflammation in the arteries.

In a study of nearly 18,000 people from 26 countries, researchers found that the cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor reduced the risk by 47 per cent in patients with low to normal cholesterol levels but high levels of C-reactive protein, a known marker for inflammation.

CRP is naturally produced by the liver and levels rise when there is inflammation throughout the body, which is a response to infection, injury and illness.

Scientists believe inflammation leads to the development of so-called "soft" plaque in the arteries, which can cause clots that choke off blood supply to the heart.

The JUPITER study, as it is known, sought to determine if heart attacks and strokes could be prevented in patients who have normal to low cholesterol levels but high CRP levels.

Researchers found that patients who were given Crestor had a:

• 20 per cent decreased risk of death.
• 48 per cent lower risk of suffering a stroke.
• 54 per cent lower risk of having a heart attack.

The findings suggest the anti-cholesterol drugs lower CRP levels and the inflammation that causes it. They also suggest that the blood test for CRP may become a routine part of health care for hundreds of thousands of middle-aged patients, even if they do not have elevated cholesterol levels.

"It's a lot of people," study author Dr. Jacques Genest, of the McGill University Health Centre, told CTV News. "But in a study that shows this effect on mortality, the results will have to be taken seriously."

The researchers were so shocked by the findings that they stopped the study more than two years early in order to release the results.

The researchers presented their findings Sunday at the American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans.

Doctors have long known that having high levels of LDL, or so-called "bad" cholesterol, can lead to clogged arteries, which triggers heart attacks and strokes.

However, as many as one half of heart attacks occur in patients who have low or normal cholesterol levels and otherwise healthy hearts, according to the American Heart Association.

The researchers said that people with normal or low cholesterol should be tested for CRP especially if they have the following conditions:

• They have high blood pressure.
• They are obese.
• They don't exercise or have poor eating habits.
• They have diabetes.

While Crestor was the drug used in the study, the researchers believe that other cholesterol-lowering drugs, known as statins, could have the same effect.

However, some lifestyle changes can naturally reduce inflammation, namely a healthy diet, exercise and weight loss.

Dr. Ruth McPherson of the Ottawa Heart Institute said the findings are important because "this could prevent 25,000 deaths per year in Canada using this additional marker."

With a report from CTV medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip