Wider Use of Statin Drugs Could Save Thousands More Lives: Report
Wider Use of Statin Drugs Could Save Thousands More Lives: Report
New guidelines would have 13 million more Americans taking the cholesterol drugs, experts say
Hoffman's team believe the newer guidelines will save tens of thousands of lives. They are also expected to boost the number of adults who are eligible to take statins by nearly 13 million, the researchers said. That has raised concerns that statins may be prescribed to people who don't need them, unnecessarily exposing them to potential risks from the drugs.
The researchers also believe the new guidelines are also better at spotting low-risk patients who do not need to take the drugs.
The new guidelines, "have improved our ability to achieve the precision medicine goal of delivering the right treatments to the right patients," study co-author Dr. Christopher O'Donnell of the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said in the news release.
Dr. David Friedman is chief of heart failure services at North Shore-LIJ's Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream, N.Y. He believes that a healthy diet, regular exercise, quitting smoking and managing your weight can all help protect the heart. Now, the new study adds evidence to the notion that the "earlier use of preventive statins" may help do the same, he said.
Wider Statin Use Could Save Thousands More Lives
New guidelines would have 13 million more Americans taking the cholesterol drugs, experts say
Hoffman's team believe the newer guidelines will save tens of thousands of lives. They are also expected to boost the number of adults who are eligible to take statins by nearly 13 million, the researchers said. That has raised concerns that statins may be prescribed to people who don't need them, unnecessarily exposing them to potential risks from the drugs.
The researchers also believe the new guidelines are also better at spotting low-risk patients who do not need to take the drugs.
The new guidelines, "have improved our ability to achieve the precision medicine goal of delivering the right treatments to the right patients," study co-author Dr. Christopher O'Donnell of the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, said in the news release.
Dr. David Friedman is chief of heart failure services at North Shore-LIJ's Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream, N.Y. He believes that a healthy diet, regular exercise, quitting smoking and managing your weight can all help protect the heart. Now, the new study adds evidence to the notion that the "earlier use of preventive statins" may help do the same, he said.
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