Cholesterol lowering ‘statin’ drugs are cost effective in far more people than current guidelines recommend and should be considered for a wider range of people, say researchers in a study published online by the BMJ today.
Large trials have shown that lowering blood cholesterol levels with statins greatly reduces major vascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, in people at high risk.
Cost of using statins is lower for many groups than the cost of hospital treatment should they suffer a vascular event. Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This analysis suggests that through the health benefits that simvastatin offers, it is cost effective to offer the treatment to many more people than are currently considered eligible.”