Statins won't cut heart attack risk for healthy patients, claims study

SCOTTISH experts have backed a report claiming there is no evidence supporting widespread use of cholesterol-lowering statins in otherwise healthy patients.

The drugs are highly effective at reducing blood cholesterol levels and are routinely given to people with heart disease.

But some GPs also advocate their wider use for patients who fall into a higher-risk category for heart disease - if they have a family history of the illness, or high blood pressure.

It has also been claimed many healthy doctors take it themselves on a precautionary basis.

Heart charities, patients' groups and GPs all warned that people considering taking statins - which are available in low doses over the counter from pharmacies - should take advice from their doctors before beginning the drug and consider making lifestyle changes instead to prevent heart disease.

"The evidence base for treatment with statins is continually advancing, but it is best that each individual takes advice from his or her doctor as to whether the treatment is appropriate for them," said Louise Peardon, deputy director of advice and support at Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland. "Statins are just one factor in reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Equally important are lifestyle factors such as eating a healthy diet, taking regular exercise and stopping smoking."

The report, which analysed data on more than 34,000 patients, concluded there was insufficient evidence to justify use of statins in people with no previous history of heart disease.

But the new findings from a review of 14 statin trials found that the drugs did reduce death rates and helped prevent heart attacks and strokes.

• Analysis: 'We shouldn't forget that statins can be very beneficial'

Lead researcher Dr Fiona Taylor, from the Cochrane Heart Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "This review highlights important shortcomings in our knowledge about the effects of statins in people who have no previous history of CVD (cardiovascular disease). The decision to prescribe statins in this group should not be taken lightly."

The findings have been published in the Cochrane Library, which produces comprehensive reviews of drug-trial evidence.

Last year, research from Glasgow University found that use of statins increased the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, while the drug has also been linked to other illnesses in certain studies, including Parkinson's Disease.

Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients Association, said she believed the long-term use of statins in healthy patients could store up health problems for the future.

Statins generally have mild side-effects but, in rare cases, can lead to a serious muscle-wasting condition. The researchers said that for people at high risk of heart disease it was likely the benefits of statins outweighed any harm they might cause."I think there are too many people who think they need to take them, because their mother or father have a heart problem," she said. "I think the person should change their lifestyle to help their risk factors. By dishing drugs out willy nilly we are creating patients of the future."

BACKGROUND

STATINS, otherwise known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are a type of drug used to lower levels of cholesterol - fatty deposits - in the blood. The drug's history goes back to 1971, when Akira Endo, a Japanese biochemist, identified an enzyme which inhibited the body's production of cholestrol in the liver. The link between cholestrol and heart disease had only just been discovered.