Statins' Benefits Far Outweigh Risks, Experts Say

In a new report that aims to put to rest the debate over the pros and cons of statins, Harvard Medical School researchers and other experts say the benefits of cholesterol-lowering drugs far outweigh the risks when it comes to cardiovascular disease prevention.

The report, published in the American Journal of Medicine, downplays recent studies suggesting statins taken by millions of Americans may slightly increase the risk of developing diabetes.

The scientists said the potential risk of diabetes pales in comparison to the benefits of statins in both the treatment and primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes. They also expressed “grave concerns” about the “needless premature deaths” caused by people not taking statins because of “misplaced” and “unproven” worries that the drugs can cause diabetes.

In the article, several world-renowned cardiologists and medical experts — including Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Marc A. Pfeffer and Dr. Charles H. Hennekens of Florida Atlantic University medical school — cited a large body of research that suggests people should take statins regardless of how healthy and active they are, and no matter how low their cholesterol levels may be.

“The totality of evidence clearly indicates that the more widespread and appropriate utilization of statins, as adjuncts, not alternatives to therapeutic lifestyle changes, will yield net benefits in the treatment and primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes, including among high, medium and low risk patients unwilling or unable to adopt therapeutic lifestyle changes,” said Hennekens.

In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Joseph S. Alpert, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Arizona School of Medicine, added: “There is no threshold for low density lipoprotein [‘bad’] cholesterol below which there are no net benefits of statins either in the treatment or primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes.”

Hennekens added that concerns that led people to be wary of statins are “especially alarming” because cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in men and women. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease causes approximately 600,000 U.S. deaths each year.

Debate over statins was stoked by new statins guidelines issued in November 2013, by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, that recommended wider use of the drugs in the treatment and primary prevention of heart attacks and strokes.

Many alternative medicine practitioners argue that millions are being misled about the benefits of statin drugs.

In a recent article in the Prescriber medical journal , experts from the United States, France, England, and Ireland questioned the theory that lowering LDL “bad” cholesterol actually cuts heart disease. They added that side effects of statins may be far more common and debilitating than major studies suggest.

London cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhorta, for example, claimed the “cholesterol con” has led to “overmedication of millions.”

Harvard Medical School’s Dr. John Abramson also cited research that has found no link between high LDL cholesterol levels and heart deaths in those over 60.

“A lack of association between LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in those over 60 from our recent systemic review suggests the conventional cholesterol hypothesis is flawed,” wrote Abramson in the article, entitled “The Great Cholesterol Con.”