(RxWiki News) For those with ischemic heart disease, statins are recommended. But not all patients may benefit from statins, according to a new JAMA Internal Medicine study.
There are differences in the recommendations for targets for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, or "bad" cholesterol) levels. Lead study author Dr. Morton Leibowitz and team focused on determining the association between statin treatment, target levels of LDL-C and risk for a major adverse cardiac event.
For this study, a major adverse cardiac event included chest pain, heart attack, angioplasty or bypass, stroke or death.
Statins are used to lower cholesterol.
This study evaluated nearly 32,000 patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD).
LDL-C levels were categorized into low, moderate and high levels — an LDL-C of 70 mg/dL or less was categorized as low, an LDL-C between 70.1 and 100 mg/dL was categorized as moderate and an LDL-C between 100.1 to 130 mg/dL was categorized as high.
This study found that those with a moderate LDL-C level taking a statin were at a lower risk for experiencing a major adverse cardiac event when compared to those with a high LDL-C level. However, there was not an additional benefit if an LDL-C of 70 mg/dL or lower was achieved. That said, statins may not be needed in all patients to lower cholesterol levels.
Speak with your doctor about you treating your high cholesterol and your target goals.
The Clalit Research Institute funded this study. The authors of this study did not disclose any conflicts of interests.
