17 million US adults may no longer receive statin therapy for heart disease

[MULTIZ321]

17 million US adults may no longer receive statin therapy for heart disease

Heart disease: Millions may no longer get preventive statin therapy

The American Heart Association recently updated its risk equations for predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease events, which means that millions of Americans may soon no longer qualify for preventive statin therapy.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Richard

 

[pedro47]

Richard, I am very grateful, that you took the time to share this information.

 

[Timeshare Von]

Thanks for sharing this Richard. As someone on a statin for what seems like FOREVER, I would love to be off of it. With dropping weight and my cholesterol levels very good, I asked him about discontinuing them last year and he said that would be prudent since they are "obviously working." I wonder if now, science will say I'm no longer in need of it? We'll see the next time I see my PCP or need to get a refill on the Rx.

 

[artringwald]

I had been taking Lipitor for many years because both my grandfathers died of heart attacks, and my father needed bypass surgery. Ten years ago my doctor recommended getting a CT calcium scan. If it showed any blockage of the heart's arteries, he wanted to increase my Lipitor. It's not an invasive procedure, but I had to pay $100 because insurance wouldn't cover it. It showed that I didn't have any blockage so he took me off Lipitor. I took it again last year and the blockage was very slight, so still no Lipitor. This time it was covered by Medicare and I paid nothing.

If you have risk factors for heart disease, "talk to your doctor to see if a CT calcium scan may be right for you". It can either give you some peace of mind, or alert you to pursue preventive measures.