Primary Prevention With Statins

The use of statins in primary prevention

BACKGROUND The use of statins in secondary prevention of cardiovascular events is well established. However, there is ongoing discussion about the use of statins in the context of primary prevention. Moreover statins - besides cholesterol-lowering effects - are assumed to have pleiotropic effects. Positive impacts on diseases like stroke, Alzheimer's disease or osteoporosis are discussed but st...

The role of statins in primary prevention.

Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease.

The US Preventive Services Task Force has recently recommended the use of statins in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults. Doubts remain as to whether this approach is really cost-effective, and additional drawbacks include the increasing burden of potential side effects and incremental costs due to laboratory monitoring.

Primary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease With Statins

In the current issue of Circulation, Lazar et al report the results of their modeling of the cost-effectiveness of alternative statin treatment strategies for primary prevention using low-cost, lower-potency generic statins.1 Lazar’s study informs clinical decisions and practice guidelines about the potential use of statin therapy in people at low to moderate risk for coronary heart disease. It...

Statins for primary cardiovascular prevention in the elderly

The elderly population is increasing worldwide, with subjects > 65 years of age constituting the fastest-growing age group. Furthermore, the elderly face the greatest risk and burden of cardiovascular disease mortality and morbidity. Although elderly patients, particularly those older > 75, have not been well represented in randomized clinical trials evaluating lipid-lowering therapy, the avail...