Why don’t people who are eligible for cholesterol lowering medicines take them? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Only about 25 percent of people who need cholesterol lowering medicines based on blood tests take them,  with about 2/3 of those who’ve had a cardiovascular event doing so, a study by Caleb Alexander, a drug safety and efficacy expert at Johns Hopkins and colleagues has shown. Alexander says finding out why not is key to improving uptake.

Alexander: There are no magic bullets here. There are many factors that account for the gaps that we describe. Many people are undiagnosed and don't even know they have high cholesterol. Even those who are diagnosed may not be fully treated due to a variety of barriers. Some may feel they don't need treatment. Others may feel they're not able to afford treatment, others may have a hard time remembering to take their medicines consistently. I would focus on system based interventions that improve the ease and the efficiency with which patients can be diagnosed.        :33

Alexander notes that this study also found that if people took these medicines as prescribed it would save billions of dollars in healthcare costs, and save lives. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.