Statins can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by lowering cholesterol levels, but many people who could potentially benefit from taking statins are refusing to do so, according to a new study from researchers in Boston, Massachusetts.
Among patients who were at a higher risk for heart disease, more than one in five refused to take statins when they were initially recommended, the study found.
There was a significant gap between men and women.
Women were about 20% more likely than men to refuse to take statins when they were first recommended and about 50% more likely to never accept a statin recommendation.
“Further research is needed to assess why women at high cardiovascular risk are less likely to accept their clinicians’ recommendation of statin therapy,” according to the study, which was published Tuesday in “JAMA Network Open.”
The study looked at more than 24,000 patients at Mass General Brigham in Boston between 2000 and 2018.
It focused on high-risk patients who had coronary artery or vascular disease, diabetes, very high cholesterol or had suffered a stroke.
“Statins are very important drugs to prevent heart disease,” said Dr. Allen Taylor, chairman of cardiology at MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute.
While Taylor was not involved in the Boston study, he has extensive experience with statins and high-risk patients.
He said the gap between men and women was concerning.
“We need to understand the reasons because it’s a gap that we don’t want to persist,” Taylor said. “It’s not that statins are less effective in women because they are equally effective in men and women.”
Taylor said potential side effects from statins, including muscle aches, may cause some people to turn away from the medication.
“There are always ways to work through that, including different drugs and different doses,” Taylor said.
According to the study, patients who declined statin therapy developed higher LDL — also known as “bad cholesterol” levels — which likely increased their risks further.
Statin drugs, such as Lipitor or Crestor, lower LDL cholesterol by slowing down the liver’s production of cholesterol. They also increase the liver’s ability to remove LDL cholesterol that is already in the blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
