Half of patients prescribed statins fail to hit target reduction in LDL cholesterol

Half of patients prescribed statins in primary care fail to reach the target cholesterol concentration specified by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) after two years, a new study has found.1

Researchers analysed data for 165 411 patients taking statins, who did not have cardiovascular disease before starting them, and found that 51.2% did not meet the 40% reduction target for low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

The study could not account for the effect of non-adherence to statins by patients, a factor which cardiologist Márcio Bittencourt said could explain why the reduction in LDL cholesterol was lower than expected in “most cases.” …