Apr 2, 2014 – Statin Guidelines

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ANCHOR LEAD: IF YOU ARE TOLD YOU NEED A STATIN, WILL YOU LISTEN? ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS

About 13 million more of us are candidates for statin medications, used to lower heart disease risk, than are currently taking them, a new study estimates. Michael Blaha, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, says that although he doesn’t hear a lot of pushback from people he recommends should be taking statins based on cholesterol or family history, there are other objections.

BLAHA: I have gotten quite a bit of pushback on other elements of the guidelines, for example, the new guidelines would say that most older patients, let’s say over 60 years old, are high risk and should be on a statin, and sometimes we find that older patients who don’t really have risk factors, someone might say well I’m 65 years old but I don’t have any risk factors, just because I’m 65 doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to start a medicine, and I actually agree with that. :24

Blaha says each person must be considered individually for whether or not they should be taking a statin. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.