KUALA LUMPUR, 17 April — A study published in the British Medical Journal found that 51% of patients on statin therapy did not reach healthy levels of cholesterol despite being on the medication for two years. The risk of cardiovascular disease appears to be similar for both those who reached those levels and those who did not.
UK scientists followed more than 165,000 patients in a cohort study over an average of 6 1/2 years. 14% of these individuals experienced a related complication such as coronary artery disease or a stroke.
Those who did manage to achieve healthy levels of cholesterol while on statin therapy, didn’t seem to gain much advantage. 13% of them experienced cardiovascular complications.
The study did not account for patients who did not strictly adhere to their statin regimen. It does however provide ‘real world evidence’ on the intended therapeutic benefits and correlation with risk of cardiovascular disease.
The results, the authors state, “contribute to the debate on the effectiveness of statin therapy and highlight the need for personalised medicine” when treating cholesterol.
