OTC Statins: Empowering the Individual?

Ivanhoe Newswire
Friday, September 28, 2007; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Some doctors are calling for people to have more control over their own heart health by allowing statins, medications now prescribed to lower cholesterol, to be bought over the counter.

Cardiologists from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York recommend letting patients get statins without a prescription. The researchers note educating the public and encouraging patient involvement in health care has been shown to be an effective way to improve disease prevention.

The recommendation comes at a time when heart disease is reaching epidemic levels in the United States and is still the leading cause of death in this country. The number of Americans estimated to have coronary heart disease is expected to more than double by 2050. Cholesterol is one of the main risk factors for heart disease.

Even though statins have been available for 20 years and have proven to be safe and effective in lowering cholesterol, many patients throughout the world still do not get this treatment, lead author Valentin Fuster, M.D., Ph.D., from Mount Sinai Medical Center, was quoted as saying. We have made only limited progress tackling coronary heart disease, and we need additional approaches to prevent this epidemic from continuing.

Several studies show any reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. Research also suggests taking statins can reduce LDL levels by as much as 24 percent, and patients who take them become motivated to learn about other lifestyle changes that can help keep cholesterol under control, like diet and exercise.

More than 23 million people in the United States are at risk for developing coronary heart disease, and Dr. Fuster reports a significant proportion of them could benefit by taking statins but are not currently doing so. He explains it is this population that could directly benefit from the greater access and education a non-prescription statin would provide.

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SOURCE: American Journal of Cardiology, 2007;100:907-910