Patients with Genetic Risk of Heart Attack Benefit Most from Statins
Patients with Genetic Risk of Heart Attack Benefit Most from Statins – According to new research, statin therapy is more beneficial to patients who have a genetic risk of heart disease.
Statins are drugs that can lower cholesterol levels by blocking a substance that helps your body make cholesterol. They can also help your body reabsorb cholesterol from the plaques in your arteries, and thus help prevent plaques from blocking your blood vessels and causing heart attacks and strokes. Statins are commonly prescribed for patients considered to be at risk for heart disease. In 2013, the the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association changed the guidelines for statin therapy, increasing the number of patients recommended to take it, causing a debate on use of statins.
To study who would benefit the most from statins, researchers at Washington University analyzed data from five studies and used genetics to identify patients at a high risk of heart disease, rather than risk factors like age, cholesterol levels, smoking, and found that those in the high-risk category have a 70% risk of heart attack than those with a low genetic risk.
Researchers found that use of statins resulted in a 48% reduction in the high-risk group, but only 29% reduction in the intermediate group, and 13% in the low-risk group. These results go against previous studies which showed that statins provide about the same relative risk reduction—30%-45% in all patient categories. Study authors say more research is needed to confirm these results.
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