.Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - According to researchers, statins, drugs known for their ability to help cholesterol, are able to reduce the risk of blood clots, as well as death from pneumonia.

Statins are the best-selling drug in the world and are used for a variety of purposes.

Statins have proven to be effective in lowering cholesterol, reducing risk of heart attack, stroke, etc.

Researchers were led by Dr. Reimar Thomsen of Aarhus University and Aalborg Hospital in Denmark.

They tracked a total of 29,900 patients who were treated for pneumonia in Denmark.

What they found was that those who were able to take statins before they were put in the hospital did much better.

Those who took statins had a 31% reduced risk of death from pneumonia.

16% of those not on statins died within 30 days, while 22% died within 90 days.

A different set of researchers from Albert Einstein Medical Center in Pennsylvania found that statins reduce the risk of blood clots developing in the leg, known as deep vein thrombosis.

The studies have been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, and at the meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians.