Does the long-term use of statins in men with raised cholesterol and no history of heart attacks have any benefits?
In the first five years of treating 1,000 men who had a history of raised cholesterol but without heart attacks who were prescribed statins (medicines that help lower cholesterol in the blood) no evidence of harm was seen. There were lasting health benefits and cost savings to the NHS. Further research on this trial over 20 years showed reduced deaths, heart attacks and admissions for heart disease.
Data was collected from hospital records, Cancer Registry data and death records.
Funding was from Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Sankyo Company, grants from the Chief Scientist’s Office Scotland, Wellcome Trust (Scottish Health Informatics Programme), Celera Diagnostics and the Farr Institute.
Click below to see how the study was undertaken and discover more detailed results
This work uses data provided by patients and collected by the health professionals as part of the care and support provided.