Taking statins can significantly cut the risk of having a repeat stroke

Taking statins can significantly cut the risk of having a repeat stroke, research has shown.

The drugs have already been prescribed to millions of Britons because they are believed to cut the risk of heart attacks.

They do this by reducing a patient's cholesterol - which is also believed to be a risk factor for strokes.

A U.S. study found that those who had already had one ischaemic stroke - caused by a clot blocking a blood vessel in the brain - reduced their chances of having another by 16 per cent if they took a statin called atorvastatin.

However, a secondary analysis published in the journal Neurology discovered that this benefit was partially undermined by a slight increase in the risk of suffering a haemorrhagic stroke, where a ruptured blood vessel bleeds into the brain.

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