Statins increase the incidence of liver damage

This post includes a synopsis of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine 2006; 355:549-559 August 10, 2006

Study title and authors:
High-Dose Atorvastatin after Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack

Karam JG et al The Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) Investigators
This study can be accessed at: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa061894

The study divided up 4731 patients who had had a stroke into 2 groups who had treatment of either (i) 80 mg of a statin drug per day or (ii) placebo.

Elevated liver enzymes may indicate the liver is damaged.

The study found:
(a) The statin group had a 66% higher incidence of  hemorrhagic strokes.
(b) The statin group had a 2.31% more deaths.
(c) Elevated liver enzyme values were more common in patients taking statins.