Statins for Primary Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

In the US, more than 126 million adults have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with CVD is a public health imperative. Accordingly, considerable resources and effort have been invested in determining not only how to effectively treat symptomatic coronary artery disease or ischemic stroke, but also on prevention of clinical CVD. Although elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is associated with higher rates of CVD, there is uncertainty regarding the net benefit to risk ratio of using statins to reduce LDL among persons without CVD (primary prevention). This contrasts with the established role of LDL reduction for persons with established CVD (secondary prevention).
Source: JAMA Internal Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Source Type: research