Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Zhen Zhou
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters2 July 2019Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular DiseaseZhen Zhou, MDZhen Zhou, MDMenzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia (Z.Z.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L19-0260 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In their original research article, Yebyo and colleagues (1) performed a benefit–harm balance modeling study to assess the expected 10-year risks above which statins provide net benefit for primary prevention of CVD. The results present higher risk thresholds for obtaining net benefit from statins than those advised in most current guidelines (1). However, a key limitation to the study emphasizes the need for cautious interpretation of their results and deserves further attention.The authors combined aggregated data from both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies when estimating the benefits and harms of statins (1). However, there ...References1. Yebyo HG, Aschmann HE, Puhan MA. Finding the balance between benefits and harms when using statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a modeling study. Ann Intern Med. 2019;170:1-10. [PMID: 30508425]. doi:10.7326/M18-1279 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Collins R, Reith C, Emberson J, et al. Interpretation of the evidence for the efficacy and safety of statin therapy. Lancet. 2016;388:2532-2561. [PMID: 27616593] doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31357-5 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Taylor F, Ward K, Moore TH, et al. Statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011:CD004816. [PMID: 21249663] doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004816.pub4 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Gupta A, Thompson D, Whitehouse A, et al; ASCOT Investigators.. Adverse events associated with unblinded, but not with blinded, statin therapy in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-Lipid-Lowering Arm (ASCOT-LLA): a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial and its non-randomised non-blind extension phase. Lancet. 2017;389:2473-2481. [PMID: 28476288] doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31075-9 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia (Z.Z.)Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. Her form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L19-0260. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoFinding the Balance Between Benefits and Harms When Using Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Henock G. Yebyo , Hélène E. Aschmann , and Milo A. Puhan Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Benjamin Djulbegovic and Iztok Hozo Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Henock G. Yebyo , Hélène E. Aschmann , and Milo A. Puhan Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Paul C. Sorum Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease J. David Spence Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Chester B. Good , Inmaculada Hernandez , and Natasha Parekh Metrics 2 July 2019Volume 171, Issue 1Page: 73KeywordsAdverse eventsCardiovascular diseasesCataractsConflicts of interestDisclosureMotivationObservational studiesSafetyStatins ePublished: 2 July 2019 Issue Published: 2 July 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...