Myths about statins

Unless you can receive a high dose of a statin, it is not worth taking.
 
Facts:

• More than 80% of the benefits of statins occur at the lowest dose.⁷
• However, it is true that more-intensive statin therapy regimens provide a greater benefit than less-intensive statin therapy, and reduce vascular events by a further 15% (95% CI 11% to 18%; P <.0001).⁸

Statins have real benefits, and reports to the contrary do real harm to real patients. It is important to debunk these myths with your patients who have heart disease and are at high risk of experiencing cardiovascular events. It is also important to remember that there are options other than statins—the bile acid sequestrants—that also have real cardiovascular benefits.
 
In short, lipid-lowering therapy is widely available, yet underused. Pharmacists can help educate patients with the strongest available data on the benefits of these life-savings drugs.

References

7. Josan K, McAlister FA. Cholesterol lowering for secondary prevention: what statin dose should we use?. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2007;3(5):615-627.
8. Cholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration, Baigent C, Blackwell L, et al. Efficacy and safety of more intensive lowering of LDL cholesterol: a meta-analysis of data from 170,000 participants in 26 randomised trials. Lancet. 2010;376(9753):1670-1681.