13 million more Americans eligible for statins

The new guidelines states that around 13 million more Americans needs to use statins for treating high cholesterol and also to prevent cardiovascular diseases. The research was conducted by Duke Medicine scientists. It is for the first time a research is able to quantify the real impact of the American Heart Association's proposed guidelines. These guidelines issued in November last year projected controversy and rumor about whom all are eligible for statins prescription. The report further found out that around 43.2 million to 56 million people that is almost half of the U.S. population lying between the ages of 40 and 75 can use these prescriptions. The lead author Michael J. Pencina, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics at DCRI explains, “We sought to do a principled, scientific study to try to answer how the new guidelines might affect statin use, particularly as they focused eligibility on patients with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.”