Statins could benefit health of millions
Medical journal says cholesterol-lowering pills can reduce the risk of heart problems, especially in the over-50sMillions of over-50s could safeguard their health by taking statins, according to a study that found the drugs benefit healthy people with no heart problems.The findings could lead to a change in policy by the NHS, which currently restricts cholesterol-lowering statins to those who either have heart disease or have at least a 20% risk of suffering a "major vascular event", such as a non-fatal heart attack, stroke or surgery on damaged arteries, within the next decade.But a big study of statins' effectiveness, published in the online version of the Lancet medical journal, challenges that policy and concludes that even for people with no record of heart problems, taking statins can reduce their risk by a fifth.The international criteria for who should receive statins should be reviewed and extended, the authors say. As many as...
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