Published 15 July 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a813
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a813

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US paediatricians and cardiologists are criticised for recommending statins for children

¹ New York

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A storm of criticism has arisen after the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association decided to recommend statins for children as young as 8 years old with high lipid concentrations and for those as young as 2 years old with major cardiovascular risk factors.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a new clinical report, replacing one from 1998. It said that doctors should measure cholesterol concentrations in children aged 2 years and over and should treat children with high concentrations with statins, probably for life (Pediatrics 2008;122:198-208). The report echoed last year’s report by the American Heart Association (Circulation 2007;115:1948-67).

Timothy Gardner, president of the American Heart Association, said that atherosclerosis begins in childhood. "The earlier we can identify these abnormalities and begin treating them appropriately, the better chance we have of reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other blood vessel problems in . . . [Full text of this article]

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