Impact of Statins on Cytokine Expression in Pneumonia

The investigators are conducting a study to determine the effects of a cholesterol-lowering medication, called simvastatin on pneumonia. People in the study will be in the hospital because they have pneumonia. The people will also have a medical condition like heart disease, diabetes, stroke or high cholesterol for which cholesterol-lowering medication has been shown to prevent future disease and/or death but are not taking a cholesterol-lowering medication when they go to the hospital. Some people will get treated with antibiotics only and other people will get antibiotics and simvastatin while they are in the hospital. The study will compare the effects the combination of simvastatin and antibiotics has on people with pneumonia to treatment with antibiotics alone.