Statins are just as effective at reducing the risk of heart attacks and stroke in people over the age of 70 as they are in younger people, according to a new study.
Researchers from from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, part of Harvard Medical School, analysed data on 240,000 people to better understand the impact of statins on treating cardiovascular disease in older adults.
Cholesterol-lowering medications, such as statins, reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events in patients aged 75 and above by 26 per cent, they found.
Prior to this research there were questions over whether there was any benefit to giving older adults statins – but the researchers say this proves it is beneficial.
A related study by researchers from Denmark, published in the same issue of the journal The Lancet, involved observations of 90,000 people and came to a similar conclusion over the benefits of statins in older adults to treat heart disease.
Statins are just as effective at treating cardiovascular disease for people over the age of 70 as they are in younger people, according to a new study. Stock image
Despite the new evidence showing the benefits of statins in older people, researchers stress they are still valuable for keeping bad cholestoral in check in younger adults – and can be used as early as possible to prevent build-up in arteries.
Previous studies have shown that LDL cholesterol – often called the ‘bad’ cholesterol because the fatty substance collects in the walls of blood vessels – can increase the risk of heart disease, attacks and stroke.
The new findings mean it is just as beneficial for people over the age of 75 with high LDL cholesterol to take statins to reduce heart attack risk as it is for the young.
Professor Marc Sabatine, study lead author, said: ‘Cholesterol-lowering medications are affordable drugs that have reduced risk of heart disease for millions of people worldwide, but until now their benefits for older people have remained less certain.’
Sabatine said the new research shows the drugs are as effective in reducing deaths and heart attacks in the over 75s as they are in younger people.
‘We found no offsetting safety concerns and together, these results should strengthen guideline recommendations for the use of cholesterol-lowering medications, including statin and non-statin therapy, in elderly people.’
Another study, by Copenhagen University Hospital, also published in the same issue of the Lancet, looked at the impact of statins on people aged 70 to 100 years.
They found that people in that age group who have not had a previous cardiovascular events may gain the most benefit from taking medications that lower cholesterol compared to younger age groups.
The observational research, involving more than 90,000 people living in Copenhagen in Denmark, also found that people aged over 70 years had the highest incidence of heart attack and cardiovascular disease of any age group.
Professor Borge Nordestgaard, said: ‘Our study provides further evidence for the cumulative burden of LDL cholesterol over a person’s lifetime and the progressive increase in risk for heart attack and cardiovascular disease with age.
‘With the proportion of people living beyond 70 years of age worldwide rapidly increasing, these data point to the huge potential for primary prevention strategies aimed at lowering LDL cholesterol to reduce the population burden of heart disease.
The researchers stress the importance of keeping LDL cholesterol – often called the ‘bad’ cholesterol because the fatty substance collects in the walls of blood vessels – under control in individuals as early as possible to prevent build-up in the arteries
‘The findings should guide decision making about whether older individuals will benefit from statin therapy.’
Commenting on the findings, Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in either of the studies, said previous studies have left question marks over the benefit of statins in older people.
‘This new research not only shows that statins provide significant benefits in people over the age of 75, but that this age group could benefit the most as their risk of heart disease is higher,’ said Sr Nilesh.
‘Patients should not be denied a statin simply because of their age.
‘Any decision to start taking a statin should be based on a conversation between a patient and their GP, which will take into account an individual’s risk and likely benefit.’
Both studies have been published in the journal The Lancet.