New study supports wider use of statins

An analysis of previous research supports the idea that even healthy people who do not have heart disease can benefit from taking cholesterol-lowering statins. Researchers found that taking statins reduced overall mortality by 12 percent, major coronary events by 30 percent, and strokes by 19 percent. Data also showed that people with a number of cardiovascular risk factors and older men particularly benefit from statin therapy, and that many people who currently take aspirin for their heart health would be better off with the cholesterol-lowering drugs instead. The analysis involved 10 clinical trials that involved more than 70,000 people.