The guidelines for treating hypercholesterolemia are conservative. Because the figure seems excessive to the medical community, treatment targets are elevated to pinpoint only individuals who are at high risk. This does not mean, however, that people with lower cholesterol would not benefit from statin treatment.
More research is needed to help accurately define guidelines for statin therapy.
And a new study shows that patients who should not be treated with statins are being prescribed the medication. Furthermore, doctors are failing to consistently monitor patients for the drugs' potentially dangerous side effects. Risks include smoking, hypertension, diabetes, or a family history of early heart disease. People most likely prescribed the drug unnecessarily were over age 70, had no heart disease, and had fewer than two risk factors for heart disease. Abookire's group also found statins are not prescribed often enough.