Popping Statins Like Candy

In the National Geographic’s heart feature this month, I was really astounded that the doctors featured took statins as a preventive measure against heart disease. In the UK, there is some discussion of making simvastatin widely available to the two thirds of Brits who would qualify as having cholesterol levels high enough to medicate. Nigel Hawkes of The Times writes:

Millions of people are now on statins, but that isn’t enough for the true enthusiasts. They won’t rest until we all are. And they also want to lower the cholesterol target, which will mean even more prescriptions for even more people, or bigger doses for those already taking the drugs.

Last year, a meta-analysis of four studies that included over 42,000 patients found that even people who have no history of heart disease would benefit from reducing their cholesterol below recommended levels – under 5 mmol/l.

The first generic version of Zocor (simvastatin) was approved last year and will be significantly cheaper. Eventually, statins may even be available over the counter. Would you pop a statin daily if it were as affordable and easy to obtain as aspirin?

Photo: tracky birthday

Tags: aspirin, zocor, simvastatin, statins, cholesterol, heart, heart disease, diseases, illness, health, cardiovascular disease