“Statins Not Needed in Healthy Adults “
In November of 2010, cardiologists at Johns Hopkins Hospital found that, among healthy adults, only those with measurable buildup of artery-hardening calcium would significantly benefit from statin treatment. Giving these strong drugs for “preventative-measures only” to healthy adults is not recommended. Hopkins investigators said, “Our results tell us that only those with calcium buildup in their arteries have a clear benefit from statin therapy. Those who are otherwise healthy and have no significant calcification should, with their physician, focus on aggressive lifestyle improvements instead of early initiation of statin medications.” The popular cholesterol-lowering drugs, Lipitor and Crestor, lower cholesterol by blocking an enzyme in the liver and the six-year Hopkins study found that 75 percent of all heart attacks, strokes or heart-related deaths occurred in the 25 percent of participants who had the highest calcium buildup in their blood vessels.
