EDITOR,—P D P Pharoah and W Hollingworth have calculated the potential costs and benefits of the increased use of statins to prevent deaths from coronary heart disease in a health authority.1 A similar and simpler calculation can be done for the patients of a British general practice.

The results of the west of Scotland coronary prevention study of pravastatin treatment in men with raised cholesterol concentration showed a headline reduction of 32% in cardiovascular mortality and 22% in all cause mortality after …