UK study finds that statins are underprescribed

A research team from the University of Manchester, UK, has concluded that the British government's health policy has less than half the European Union or USA's effectiveness at preventing heart attack or stroke among middle-aged men. The researchers found that whereas 60% of people in the highest-risk group in the USA could expect to be prescribed statins, with a 22% reduction in heart attacks, 46% of the corresponding population in the EU would be offered statins, avoiding 19% of incidents. In the UK, however, the government's National Service Framework recommends that only the 14% of patients in the highest-risk category should be treated, saving only 9% of potential heart attack victims.

The study's authors note that a significant reduction in the rate of cardiovascular disease and stroke could be achieved by prescribing statins to all average risk people, adding however, that this "raises philosophical, psychological and economic considerations."