Changes in carotid plaque tissue composition in subjects who continued and discontinued statin therapy

•Lipid-rich necrotic core (LRNC) continued to decrease in statin-continued group.•Fibrous tissue increased significantly in subjects who continued statin.•Statin-discontinued group showed non-statistically significant increase in LRNC.•Fibrous tissue increase was not seen in subjects who discontinued statin.•Changes in LRNC and fibrous tissue were significantly different between the 2 groups.