In the United States, people who have too much cholesterol are no longer the priority patients to receive statins, these cholesterol-lowering drugs. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology now advocate the use of statins for all people at risk of cardiovascular disease. Until now, these drugs were intended for people who needed to lower their bad cholesterol (LDL).
With these new instructions, all Americans at cardiovascular risk could therefore receive preventive treatment with statins. The rate of people on statins would therefore increase from 15% today to more than a third of Americans.
A larger target
Who are these new patients likely to take statins? This will concern people who have already had a cardiovascular disease, people with an LDl-cholesterol level equal to or greater than 190, type 2 diabetics aged 40 to 75 and other people at heart risk.
According to cardiologists, this increase in people treated with statins is the price to pay to limit heart attacks and strokes. “The vast majority of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented if people were aware of their risk and did what we know works to reduce it,” says Dr. David Goff, professor of public health at the University of Colorado, quoted by Le monde.fr.
More side effects
The problem is that these statins are not without risk. They can lead to side effects such as muscle disorders, liver and digestive disorders, headaches, insomnia, skin allergies, edema… These risks divide scientists, which is why the debate on the legitimacy and the effectiveness of statins regularly returns to the media scene.
“A lot of people are going to be treated with statins, that’s good news, but the bad news is that more people are going to experience side effects”, worries Dr. Carl Orringer, cardiologist in Cleveland, interviewed by NBC news.
