May 20, 2014 – Women and Statins

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:07 — 1.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

ANCHOR LEAD:  HOW SHOULD WOMEN USE STATINS DIFFERENTLY FROM MEN? ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS

Statins reduce heart disease risk in vulnerable people, everyone can agree, but recent reports suggest that vulnerability varies between men and women, and too many women may be taking the drugs.  Michael Blaha, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, says when the newest data is employed, women too may benefit.

BLAHA: It all comes down to risk, and women are on average at lower risk than men. There’s a new risk calculator out, and if you look at that risk calculator women score lower on their risk score than men do.  The risk score does take into account gender, very strongly.  So if you have a woman who’s high enough risk by the calculator then she should be taking a statin or at least consider one, and if you have a low risk woman like a premenopausal woman she’ll always be low risk with the calculator, so to say that we don’t consider gender when we prescribe statins actually is quite incorrect.   :31

So if you’re a woman considering statins, find out about your risk.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.