Wider Guidelines Urged for Statins
Wider Guidelines Urged for Statins
Wider Guidelines Urged for Statins
July 5, 2002 -- Imagine a simple pill saving hundreds of thousands of people from heart attack and stroke across the globe. That's what a major new study says would happen if cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were prescribed to the millions of at-risk individuals who could benefit from them.
Researchers say prescribing statins to a wider range of people could reduce heart attack and stroke rates by at least a third. Until now, statins have been primarily used to treat people who have high cholesterol levels.
But the results of the British Heart Protection Study (HPS) show statins also reduce risks for people with diabetes, narrowing of the arteries (the major cause of heart disease), and a history of stroke. Even more importantly, researchers say the inexpensive medications can also protect people with normal or low cholesterol levels. And they work as well in women and the elderly as they do in men and younger people.
"The clear message from this study is: 'Treat risk -- not cholesterol level,'" says Charles George, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, in a news release. He says the results of the study call for a review of the guidelines on statin use issued by government and professional organizations, such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association.
Researchers say guidelines should be changed so that a statin is considered for use in anyone at increased risk for heart attack or stroke regardless of cholesterol level.
The study examined the effects of statin use in more than 20,000 men and women between the ages of 40 to 80 with various risk factors for heart disease. After five years, the risk of heart-related deaths was reduced by 18% among those who received statins. People who took statins were also 25% less likely to suffer a nonfatal heart attack or stroke or require heart bypass surgery.
"HPS shows unequivocally that statins can produce substantial benefit in a very much wider range of high-risk people than had been previously thought," says study author Rory Collins of the University of Oxford Clinical Trial Unit, in the release.
Wider Guidelines Urged for Statins
Wider Guidelines Urged for Statins
July 5, 2002 -- Imagine a simple pill saving hundreds of thousands of people from heart attack and stroke across the globe. That's what a major new study says would happen if cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were prescribed to the millions of at-risk individuals who could benefit from them.
Researchers say prescribing statins to a wider range of people could reduce heart attack and stroke rates by at least a third. Until now, statins have been primarily used to treat people who have high cholesterol levels.
But the results of the British Heart Protection Study (HPS) show statins also reduce risks for people with diabetes, narrowing of the arteries (the major cause of heart disease), and a history of stroke. Even more importantly, researchers say the inexpensive medications can also protect people with normal or low cholesterol levels. And they work as well in women and the elderly as they do in men and younger people.
"The clear message from this study is: 'Treat risk -- not cholesterol level,'" says Charles George, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, in a news release. He says the results of the study call for a review of the guidelines on statin use issued by government and professional organizations, such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health and American Heart Association.
Researchers say guidelines should be changed so that a statin is considered for use in anyone at increased risk for heart attack or stroke regardless of cholesterol level.
The study examined the effects of statin use in more than 20,000 men and women between the ages of 40 to 80 with various risk factors for heart disease. After five years, the risk of heart-related deaths was reduced by 18% among those who received statins. People who took statins were also 25% less likely to suffer a nonfatal heart attack or stroke or require heart bypass surgery.
"HPS shows unequivocally that statins can produce substantial benefit in a very much wider range of high-risk people than had been previously thought," says study author Rory Collins of the University of Oxford Clinical Trial Unit, in the release.