When statins lower bad cholesterol, artery inflammation tends to go down too — the two seem to move together.

Stronger statins seem to calm artery inflammation better than weaker ones, based on scans that show how much sugar inflamed cells are using.

Taking statins may help calm down inflammation in the walls of arteries, which can be seen on a special scan that tracks sugar use by inflamed cells.

Statins do not induce significant regression of established atherosclerotic plaque but reduce plaque progression and enhance plaque stability by lowering LDL cholesterol exposure to arterial walls.

Statins seem to calm artery inflammation quickly, no matter how long you take them or how inflamed you were at the start — and it doesn’t seem to be tied to the usual blood inflammation test (CRP).

If someone with heart disease already has low 'bad' cholesterol on standard statin pills, stepping up their treatment might cut their risk of heart attacks or strokes by almost half.