Guidelines Would Boost Statin Use by 13 Million

Under new guidelines, statin drugs could be recommended for up to half of U.S. adults between 40 and 75. That’s an increase of nearly 13 million Americans. The estimate comes from a new study. It focuses on the effect of new guidelines for reducing LDL (“bad cholesterol”). The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology published them last fall. The new group eligible for statins includes adults ages 40 to 75 who have a 7.5% risk of developing heart disease in the next 10 years. Researchers looked at medical records for 3,700 people. They found that statin use would increase most for those 60 to 75. Under the old guidelines, about 30% of men in this group who did not have heart disease were eligible to take statins. The new guidelines would boost that to 87%. Statins would be recommended for 53% of women ages 60 to 75 without heart disease.