A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that men who took Pravachol, a statin targeted at lowering cholesterol, for five years had lower incidence of heart attacks and death from heart disease ten years after cessation of treatment with the statin.
Using a randomized trial of 6,595 men with high cholesterol, the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study collected data on men who took the drug or a placebo for approximately five years. Men who were still alive after the initial five-year treatment were tracked for an additional ten years in order to collect follow-up data. Results showed that ten years after cessation of the trial, the risk of death from heart disease or non-fatal heart attack was 8.6% for those who took Pravachol, compared to 11.3% for those who took a placebo. When looking at the entire study (with its initial five years of treatment plus ten years of follow-up), the rate was 11.8% for those who took Pravachol, compared to 15.5% for those who took the placebo. These data add to the positive news about statins, which were shown to save 83,000 lives between 1980-2000 by lowering cholesterol levels, despite the fact that the number of overweight people was on the rise.
In addition to this important finding, researchers found that statin treatment did not result in an increase in risk of death from other non-cardiovascular-related causes including cancer, nor in the incidence of cancer. This underscores the fact that statins are safe as long as they are used properly. We hope the public relies on the science that supports statins, not on the efforts by so-called consumer groups who aim to portray them as dangerous.
Krystal Wilson is a research intern at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
See also: ACSH's full report on Chemoprevention of Coronary Heart Disease.
