Recent study shows that statins have a broader usage capability. This was discovered after new guidelines were introduced and followed by doctors that improved the management of high cholesterol. While comparing the 2013 and 2014 guidelines for determination of statin eligibility, evidence found that in case of people with medium risk specifically, greater efficiency and accuracy was provided by statins in identifying risk of cardiovascular disease. This study conducted by Dr Udo Hoffman from Massachusetts General Hospital as well as Harvard Medical School in Boston together with colleagues has been published in JAMA.
More people can now pass the eligibility to be treated with statin drugs, with the application of the new guidelines. Partakers from offspring and third generation associates of the Framingham Heart Study were also included in the study. Between the period 2002 and 2005 participants received multidetector computer tomography for calcification of coronary arteries and follow up was done for a 9 year median for the new CVD.
The 2,435 people who participated in the study and not under lipid lowering therapy were 51 years. 3% or 40 heart attacks out of 74 total incident CVD events were of a non fatal nature. Along with that were another 31 strokes that were non fatal but, 3 coronary heart diseases which were fatal. The use of statins to lower cholesterol is now an incontestable tool of lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases, according to the editorial in JAMA in the same issue where this study was published. However, the challenge still remains of in who, when and how to achieve this remains.
The ‘how’ and ‘whom’ questions now stand are still not answered says, Dr. Philip Greenland from the Northwestern University, Chicago and Dr. Michael Lauer of National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda. They continued by adding, based on the facts available, including 2 reports in this issue of the journal , answers to the question of how and whom on cholesterol lowering are now clearer than what was known some 18 months ago. They believe that they now know that statins should be used for primary prevention, and now they need to focus on the understanding of how and whom to treat.
They concluded saying that the next stage of this study would be centered on finding better methods of applying drug treatment and lifestyle to the millions, and may be also billions around the world, who could be helped significantly from this cost effective approach to the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
