Statins don’t prevent heart attacks among healthy over-75s

TAKING statins over the age of 75 may not reduce the risk of heart disease or stroke, according to a study.

Analysis of pensioners with an average age of 77 found no benefit among those who were generally healthy.

Published in the British Medical Journal, the study concludes that the results “do not support the widespread use of statins in old and very old populations”.

However, some experts have pointed out that previous studies with alternative designs have indicated a benefit for over-75s and warned older people not to give up the daily pills before they consult their GP.

For the latest study, a team of Spanish researchers analysed data on almost 47,000 people with an average age of 77, who were in the Catalan primary care system database between 2006 and 2015. The participants were followed up to see whether they developed cardiovascular disease (CVD) – coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack and stroke – or if they died.

The authors of the observational study concluded that in participants older than 74 years without type 2 diabetes, statin treatment was not associated with a reduction in CVD or death. But if the person had diabetes, statin use was significantly associated with reductions in the incidence of CVD and death.

The study is likely to stoke the controversy surrounding the pills. While most scientists agree they are safe and generally effective, the official criteria NHS doctors use to decide if an individual patient requires the drug has been criticised as a blunt instrument.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence used to advise that statins should be offered to anyone with a 20 per cent risk of developing cardiovascular disease within 10 years.

In 2014, however, the threshold was reduced to 10 per cent.

Internationally, the guidance on cholesterol-lowering drugs is inconsistent. The British authorities recommend statins for primary prevention – people who have not suffered a cardiovascular event before – until the age of 84. But the European Society of Cardiology recommends treatment only up to 65.

Dr June Raine, from the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said: “The benefits of statins are well established and are considered to outweigh the risk of side-effects in the majority of patients.”