Statins are currently a leading drug in reducing the level of “bad” cholesterol (LDL), responsible for the majority of cardiovascular diseases such asinfarction or even theStroke. Today, these substances are prescribed to hundreds of thousands of patients around the world.
However, according to a new American scientific study, statins should be prescribed for the prevention of cardiovascular disease to the majority of people between the ages of 66 and 75, even if their LDL levels are normal.
97% of 66-75 year olds would be “eligible” for statins
Published Monday, November 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the study was conducted on 6,088 people aged 66 to 90 years, followed for 25 years, and is based on the recommendations of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association published in late 2013.
These recommendations emphasize that people at high risk of heart attack or stroke should take statins, even if their blood levels are high. bad cholesterol is not in excess of the set limit.
But for Dr. Michael Miedema, lead author of the study, and by virtue of these recommendations, too few people are prescribed statins.
After analyzing the sample’s health data, the researchers found that 97% of 66-75 year olds, and 100% of men in this age group should take statins, to reduce the risk of a cardiovascular event.
So it wouldn’t be the family history or the rate of cholesterol which would matter, but the patient’s age. This alone would make it possible to correctly estimate the risk of the individual and therefore his eligibility for treatment with statins.
The authors now call for new research on the subject, to know the effectiveness and the benefit of these cholesterol-lowering drugs beyond the age of 75.
Specific and supervised use in France
In France, the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) recommends reserving the preventive use of statins for people at high risk, for example smoking, diabetes and hypertension.
On the other hand, in the case of hypercholesterolemia alone, without antecedents family, prescribing statins has not been proven to be effective or even necessary. A simple dietetic treatment may suffice, especially as this has fewer undesirable effects.
In secondary prevention, that is to say after a cardiovascular problem, the interest of statins is nevertheless indisputable, recalls the HAS.
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