Be wary of stopping statins in over-75s
Discontinuing patients on the drugs for primary prevention ups their risk of CVD event: study
In patients over 75 with no history of cardiovascular disease, discontinuing statins is associated with increased risk of hospitalisation for a cardiovascular event, research shows.
In the study, authors looked at French national databases, identifying 120,173 people who who turned 75 in 2012-2014 with no history of CVD and who had been taking statins for at least two years.
Statin discontinuation was defined as three consecutive months without the drug.
As reported in the European Heart Journal, the participants (about 40% men) were followed for an average of 2.4 years.
