- Statins are a cheap, safety-profiled drug that can reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular events by reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as ‘bad’ cholesterol, in the blood.
- First prescribed to people who had had heart attacks, guidance for statin use is being constantly updated, expanding the number of groups of people who could benefit from taking the drug.
- A recent trial showed all people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) over the age of 40 could benefit from taking a statin.
- Now, a trial has shown older adults with chronic kidney disease could also benefit.
A statin was the most prescribed drug in the United States in 2020, and guidance is continually being updated recommending the expansion of the use of this type of drug.
Initially prescribed in the late 1980s to people who had had a heart attack to prevent them from having another one, statins provided a way to lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol. This prevents the hardening and narrowing of the arteries which can lead to high blood pressure.
Previously, the only interventions that had been available to people at greater risk of heart disease had been lifestyle interventions, such as diet and exercise. However, research has since shown that statins are more effective than many lifestyle interventions at lowering LDL cholesterol.
The maximum safe dose of some statins can reduce LDL cholesterol levels by up to
Understanding the role of cholesterol to health is so critical that the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1985 was awarded jointly to Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein “for their discoveries concerning the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.”
A study published in
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