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Statins may be unsafe for individuals with normal cholesterol

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

The development of statin medications has been a major advancement for the treatment of individuals who have received elevated cholesterol test results. The potential to lower the risk of heart disease in these patients has caused some medical professionals to advocate that more people, even those with no symptoms of heart disease, should take the medications.

However, experts say that this is not only pointless based on available data, it may also be dangerous.

A group of professors from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reviewed available information on the efficacy of statin medications. While their investigation did confirm the benefit of statins for those who have received unhealthy cholesterol test results, the findings were less positive for those with normal cholesterol.

Due to the fact that the majority of clinical trials investigating statins used mostly participants who had some degree of heart disease, there is currently a complete lack of evidence as to the medication's effect on healthy individuals. Furthermore, the researchers uncovered some evidence to suggest that excessively low levels of cholesterol may increase the risk of death from other causes.

The group said that further investigations into the effects of statins on healthy participants should be conducted before they can be recommended for a wider group of patients.