EXCLUSIVE

An analysis showing statins have a "surprisingly small" effect on life expectancy should not influence pharmacists' advice to patients, the British Heart Foundation has said.

The study, which examined the results of 11 existing studies on the impact of the drugs, "should not be used in isolation” because it “looked at total mortality rather than cardiovascular mortality”, the charity's associate medical director Jeremy Pearson told C+D last week (October 2).

The analysis, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last month (September 24), found that statins postpone death by a median of 3.2 days when used to prevent disease, and 4.1 days when used to reduce the impact of a pre-existing condition.

The Danish researchers said that, although the results do not challenge current prescribing guidelines, the data suggests healthcare professionals should consider "withholding" the drugs if a patients suffers side effects or has a short life expectancy.

Mr Pearson said that statins lead to a "substantial reduction" in "cardiovascular events", such as heart attack. The drugs can add 30 years to the life of young people with genetic causes of high cholesterol, he said.

"For elderly patients, cardiovascular risk is still reduced by statin treatment, but overall life expectancy does not increase," he said.

What advice do you give to patients suffering side effects from statins?

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