Statins can prevent heart attacks and strokes even in those with low cholesterol
Sep 28, 2005 - 7:33:00 AM
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This study shows that statin drugs could be beneficial in a much wider range of patients than is currently considered for treatment. What matters most is that doctors identify all patients at risk of a heart attack or stroke, largely ignoring their presenting blood cholesterol level, and then prescribe a statin at a daily dose that reduces their cholesterol substantially. Lowering the bad LDL cholesterol by 1.5 mmol/L units with a statin should reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by at least one third.
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By University of Oxford,
[RxPG] A class of drugs known as the statins that is already widely used to treat high cholesterol levels would benefit more people if targeted at all people with diseased arteries, regardless of their cholesterol level, according to findings published online in The Lancet on 27 September.
A study jointly coordinated by scientists from the Clinical Trial Service Unit (CTSU) at Oxford and the National Health Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney combined detailed results from more than 90,000 participants in 14 previously completed trials involving statin treatments. It shows that many people with lower cholesterol levels could benefit from statin treatment.
Statins are known to be effective in preventing the number of heart attacks and strokes in a wide range of patients who are at high risk of such disease. However, most doctors consider statin treatment only when the blood cholesterol level is above a certain threshold. As a consequence, patients with narrowed blood vessels are generally not treated with a statin if their blood cholesterol is below this threshold level.
The trial found that not only did people with lower cholesterol levels benefit from statins, but the biggest benefits occur in those patients with the largest absolute reductions in cholesterol after treatment, largely irrespective of their original cholesterol level.
Dr Colin Baigent in CTSU said: This study shows that statin drugs could be beneficial in a much wider range of patients than is currently considered for treatment. What matters most is that doctors identify all patients at risk of a heart attack or stroke, largely ignoring their presenting blood cholesterol level, and then prescribe a statin at a daily dose that reduces their cholesterol substantially. Lowering the bad LDL cholesterol by 1.5 mmol/L units with a statin should reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by at least one third.
The study suggests that many patients given a statin would experience greater benefits if doctors aimed to achieve larger reductions in cholesterol levels. Statins are often prescribed in relatively small doses which may only reduce cholesterol modestly, but the results of the study indicate that the benefits of statins are directly proportional to the size of the reduction in cholesterol produced by treatment so bigger cholesterol reductions with more intensive treatment regimens should lead to greater benefits.
These analyses also provide reassuring new information about the safety of statins. Some earlier studies had raised concerns that statin use might be associated with increased risk of certain cancers or of dying from certain diseases. Professor Rory Collins, Co-Director of CTSU and one of the study authors, said: This work shows clearly that statins are very safe. There is no good evidence that statins cause cancer, and nor do they increase the risk of other diseases. And although statins can cause muscle pain or weakness, our study shows that serious cases are extremely rare. The small excess of serious muscle problems is far outweighed by the large benefits on heart attacks and strokes.
The benefits of statin treatment were seen in all of the many different patient groups studied, including women, the elderly, individuals with diabetes and those with and without prior heart attack or stroke. The largest benefits were seen among those at greatest risk of a vascular event.
Publication:
The Lancet on 27 September
On the web:
www.ox.ac.uk 
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Additional information about the news article
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Funding for the study was provided by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and The British Heart Foundation (BHF) in the UK, and the National Heart Foundation (NHF) in Australia.
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