Statins effective in the long-term

By Robert Cervin, | Health | 0 Comments

A study with a ten year old follow up suggests that cholesterol-lowering drugs may benefit health in the long-term.
Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol levels and have been shown to help prevent heart problems. But most research has looked at short and medium-term benefit - up to five or six years. Now a group at the University of Helsinki and colleagues elsewhere report on a study of statins.

Over 2,000 patients received statins for 10 years and another similar-size group took a placebo for five years, and then statins. Overall, there was a 17 per cent reduction in mortality from heart disease in the group using statins for ten years, compared to those using them for only five years. There was also a trend towards reduced mortality from cancer among those using statins for the longer period. The results suggest that the longer someone takes a cholesterol-lowering statin, the more benefit they can experience.