Women, Statins can do harm...

Statins can do harm
Created: Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Healthy women and healthy older men should not take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in an attempt to prevent heart disease, suggests a US-Canadian study in the current issue of the The Lancet medical journal.

The researchers analysed data from eight previous studies that compared statins with placebo in people at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. They found that statins did reduce overall risk of heart attack or stroke but did not reduce total deaths, reported the National Post newspaper in Canada.

When the researchers analysed data from specific groups, they found that statins did not reduce the risk of heart attacks in healthy women or in healthy men older than 69 years.

Not for primary prevention
"Our analysis suggests that lipid-lowering statins should not be prescribed for true primary prevention in women of any age or for men older than 69 years," the researchers wrote.

"Most people have the impression that statins are going to make them live longer. For primary prevention, there hasn't been demonstrated to be any survival advantage," study co-author Dr Jim Wright, a professor at the University of British Columbia, told the Post.

He noted that, in rare cases, statins can cause muscle damage that results in muscle pain and weakness. The drugs can also cause nerve damage that leads to numbness and pain in the feet. – (HealthDayNews)


http://www.health24.com/news/Heart_Cardiovascular/1-958,39001.asp
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