For every 1 percent drop in saturated fat, the study showed a 1 percent lowering of LDL in patients. But sometimes diet and exercise alone are not enough to reduce cholesterol to goal levels. Perhaps a patient is genetically predisposed to high blood cholesterol. In these cases, doctors often prescribe drugs. The National Cholesterol Education Program estimates that as many as 9 million Americans take some form of cholesterol-lowering drug therapy.
Many doctors say statin drugs have revolutionized patient care.
They all lower cholesterol levels, but the side effects are minimal. A study published in the medical journal Circulation in 1998 showed that statins dramatically lower the risk of dying from heart disease. Research found that for every 10 percentage points cholesterol was reduced, the risk of death from heart disease dropped by 15 percent. One landmark study completed in 1994, the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study, or 4S, showed a 42 percent reduction in deaths from heart disease and a 30 percent drop in death from all causes over five years in patients with coronary heart disease whose high LDL levels were lowered with Zocor. The West of Scotland study, reported in 1995, revealed similar benefits from lowering LDL levels with Pravachol in patients without heart disease.