New research has indicated that statins are even more effective than previously thought and has paved the way for a far more widespread prescription program. At the moment about 1 in 4 people over 40 are prescribed the medications, which by lowering cholesterol decrease the risk of heart disease, but experts are now recommending that anyone with a 1-in-10 chance of a heart attack, making millions more eligible for the treatment.
Scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel conducted a study over five years to see how great an impact statins had on mortality rates amongst those with and without heart disease. They found that the drugs could reduce heart-disease related death by up to 50% amongst those without the illness at the time of starting the medication. They found that the impact of taking the daily pills was higher in those with a raised level of LDL cholesterol - the ‘bad’ cholesterol that causes fatty deposits called plaques to build up in the arteries, causing blockages – and those taking the higher-potency drug.
The national director for heart disease and stroke in the UK, Professor Peter Boyle, has recommended that a program be launched which would see GPs assess the risk of heart attack in all those over 40 but has warned that some might be uncomfortable taking daily medication despite being in good health, essentially becoming a ‘patient’ . He pointed out that the treatment would be cost effective, even with the added expense of increased patient assessments, considering the cost is about 54p per person per month but considerably impact on the number of heart bypasses and heart attacks.
The British Heart Foundation has greeted the proposals with encouragement, with Peter Weissberg of the charity indicating that widespread statin treatment is the way forward: “In the UK, prescription of statins for primary prevention is currently confined to those considered to be at high risk of developing heart disease. As the evidence accumulates and statins become less expensive, it is highly likely that the threshold for using statins in primary prevention will fall."