Study: Statins Help Head Off Heart Disease
By Dr. Brian McDonough
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- A new study shows that statins are doing the trick when it comes to heading off heart disease.
Back in November of 2013, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association got together and released new recommendations to guide cholesterol treatment through the use of statins.
They developed four categories for statin treatment eligibility in adults, ages 40-75.
It's a complicated calculation, but they essentially established a profile to try to find those who need to be treated for heart disease in advance.
According to a new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the changes have been a success.
Not only are people being identified, a growing number of people are taking statins and they believe the number could be as high as 8 million in the coming years.
The result could be many lives saved.