Short-term pretreatment with atorvastatin attenuates left ventricular dysfunction, reduces infarct size and apoptosis in acute myocardial infarction rats.

Background: Atorvastatin showed a number of cardiovascular benefits, however, the role and underlying molecular mechanisms of short-term atorvastatin-mediated protection remain unclear.

Methods: 30 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: sham group, acute myocardial infarction model group and atorvastatin group. The rats of acute myocardial infarction model were established by ligation of the left anterior descending of coronary arteries.