A surprising new study indicates that statins may action help heart bypass recovery.

Those who need a heart bypass surgery are typically told to cease all use of statin medications both before and after the procedure over concerns about complications, but a new study has found that the opposite may be true, according to a New York Times report.

A review of 21 studies determined that those who continued to take statins both before and after a byass surgery actually had fewer complications and fewer deaths.

Why does this happen? Scientists aren’t sure, but they think that inflammation is high after a cardiac surgery with prolonged anesthesia, and statins may help to keep that inflammation down. The studies indicate the statin actually reduced irregular heart rhythms as well as the incidence of stroke and heart attack. In addition, people who took statins had a lower risk of postoperative kidney injuries, according to the report.

Amr F. Barakat, MD, who works at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, said in a statement that “Previous research has shown that discontinuation of the medication at the time of surgery is common practice.” He added:

“The results of our review call for proactive efforts to counsel patients and surgeons about the benefit of statins — a benefit that definitely outweighs the risk of rare potential side effects.”

A colleague of Barakat, Islam Y. Elgendy, MD, from the University of Florida, said that it “appears that taking statins prior to CABG surgery can help protect patients against developing atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that is a common complication following heart surgery. Statin use also seems to be associated with a reduced risk of death during and immediately after surgery.”