 The statins inhibit cholesterol synthesis in the body and that leads to reduction in blood cholesterol levels, which is thought to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and diseases caused by it.More than 100 years ago a German pathologist named Rudolf Virchow discovered that cholesterol was to be found in the artery walls of people that died from occlusive vascular diseases, like myocardial infarction.The cholesterol was found to be responsible for the thickening of the arterial walls and thus decreasing the radius in the arteries which leads in most cases to hypertension and increased risk of occlusive vascular diseases.