Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Rate of statin prescriptions not backed by solid proof: Study

From the Montreal Gazette:
There's no evidence to support the widespread prescribing of cholesterol-lowering pills for people at low risk of heart attacks and stroke, a new study concludes.

Millions of Canadians take the cholesterol-reducers known as statins. An estimated 30.3 million prescriptions for the drugs were filled in Canada last year, according to IMS Brogan, a prescription-drug tracking firm.

For people with a history of cardiovascular disease, statins have been shown to save lives.

"But people are now taking statins who don't have any previous evidence of heart attack or stroke," said co-author Dr. Shah Ebrahim, a professor of public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in England. ...more

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