accuracy
13-02-2009, 12:13 PM
Millions of statins will go to low-risk over 40s
Millions of healthy people with no obvious sign of illness could be put on cholesterol-lowering drugs, Britain’s heart “tsar” has signalled, as new research showed that they cut the chance of heart attack by almost a half.
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 5:44PM GMT 10 Feb 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00643/news-graphics-2007-_643989a.jpg
Millions more people could be put statins to prevent a heart attack experts said as new research shows they are more effective than previously thought.
Around one in four adults aged over 40 is to be prescribed statins on the NHS under current plans. But a wide-scale study, published yesterday, has found that the drugs are even more effective than previously thought in people who appear healthy.
Prof Roger Boyle, the national director for heart disease and stroke, said the NHS rationing watchdog — the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) — would now review whether more patients, who show no signs of being unwell, should receive statins.
There have been calls for everyone over the age of 50 to be given the drugs — which consist of a daily pill costing as little as 34p a month — to lower the risk of a heart attack, but this is controversial as many see it as needlessly “medicalising” healthy people.
Prof Boyle said GPs will begin to assess the risk of a heart attack for all over-40s this year.
“The research confirms the benefits of statins throughout the stages of heart disease and it is a powerful indicator of the safety of this kind of treatment,” he said.
Current guidelines by Nice recommend that anyone calculated to have a greater than one in five chance of having a heart attack over the next 10 years should be taking a statin. Experts believe this would mean between six and seven million people taking the drugs, at a cost of £250 million a year.
Following the latest research, many are now arguing that patients found to have a one in 10 chance of a heart attack — based on blood pressure, cholesterol and family history — should receive the drugs. This would mean millions more would be taking the medication.
Prof Boyle said the only constraint to expanding the programme was how fast the estimated three million extra assessments could be carried out and “whether the public will accept the change from being a person to being a patient and taking medication long-term”.
Prof Peter Weissberg, the medical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “This observational study adds to the growing amount of evidence that statins also have benefits for those with no signs of symptoms of vascular disease.
“In the UK, prescription of statins is currently confined to those considered to be at high risk of developing heart disease. As the evidence accumulates and statins become less expensive it is highly likely that the threshold for using statins in primary prevention will fall.”
He said a one in five chance of having a heart attack over 10 years was actually quite high — most people would buy a Lottery ticket with those odds, he added.
The BHF would be “happy” to see the threshold lowered to a one in 10 chance over 10 years, but Prof Weissberg added that there was “no point” in giving the pills to everyone.
Prof Boyle said cost was “not an issue” as the drugs were so cheap. The programme would save money as it is expected to prevent 2,000 deaths a year and thousands more heart attacks and bypass operations,
Prof Boyle said. There are few serious side-effects with statins, but patients do complain of muscle aches and fatigue.
In the latest study, data from almost 230,000 adults with an average age of 57 — some with heart disease and some without — was analysed by a team in Tel Aviv.
Statins are supposed to be taken every day and the more compliant people were with the regime, the greater the reduction in their chances of dying. The paper, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, said some patients experienced a 45 per cent reduction in the risk of a heart-related death.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4573728/Millions-of-statins-will-go-to-low-risk-over-40s.html
Millions of healthy people with no obvious sign of illness could be put on cholesterol-lowering drugs, Britain’s heart “tsar” has signalled, as new research showed that they cut the chance of heart attack by almost a half.
By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor
Last Updated: 5:44PM GMT 10 Feb 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00643/news-graphics-2007-_643989a.jpg
Millions more people could be put statins to prevent a heart attack experts said as new research shows they are more effective than previously thought.
Around one in four adults aged over 40 is to be prescribed statins on the NHS under current plans. But a wide-scale study, published yesterday, has found that the drugs are even more effective than previously thought in people who appear healthy.
Prof Roger Boyle, the national director for heart disease and stroke, said the NHS rationing watchdog — the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) — would now review whether more patients, who show no signs of being unwell, should receive statins.
There have been calls for everyone over the age of 50 to be given the drugs — which consist of a daily pill costing as little as 34p a month — to lower the risk of a heart attack, but this is controversial as many see it as needlessly “medicalising” healthy people.
Prof Boyle said GPs will begin to assess the risk of a heart attack for all over-40s this year.
“The research confirms the benefits of statins throughout the stages of heart disease and it is a powerful indicator of the safety of this kind of treatment,” he said.
Current guidelines by Nice recommend that anyone calculated to have a greater than one in five chance of having a heart attack over the next 10 years should be taking a statin. Experts believe this would mean between six and seven million people taking the drugs, at a cost of £250 million a year.
Following the latest research, many are now arguing that patients found to have a one in 10 chance of a heart attack — based on blood pressure, cholesterol and family history — should receive the drugs. This would mean millions more would be taking the medication.
Prof Boyle said the only constraint to expanding the programme was how fast the estimated three million extra assessments could be carried out and “whether the public will accept the change from being a person to being a patient and taking medication long-term”.
Prof Peter Weissberg, the medical director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “This observational study adds to the growing amount of evidence that statins also have benefits for those with no signs of symptoms of vascular disease.
“In the UK, prescription of statins is currently confined to those considered to be at high risk of developing heart disease. As the evidence accumulates and statins become less expensive it is highly likely that the threshold for using statins in primary prevention will fall.”
He said a one in five chance of having a heart attack over 10 years was actually quite high — most people would buy a Lottery ticket with those odds, he added.
The BHF would be “happy” to see the threshold lowered to a one in 10 chance over 10 years, but Prof Weissberg added that there was “no point” in giving the pills to everyone.
Prof Boyle said cost was “not an issue” as the drugs were so cheap. The programme would save money as it is expected to prevent 2,000 deaths a year and thousands more heart attacks and bypass operations,
Prof Boyle said. There are few serious side-effects with statins, but patients do complain of muscle aches and fatigue.
In the latest study, data from almost 230,000 adults with an average age of 57 — some with heart disease and some without — was analysed by a team in Tel Aviv.
Statins are supposed to be taken every day and the more compliant people were with the regime, the greater the reduction in their chances of dying. The paper, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, said some patients experienced a 45 per cent reduction in the risk of a heart-related death.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4573728/Millions-of-statins-will-go-to-low-risk-over-40s.html