Cardiovascular Risk Estimation and Eligibility for Statins in Primary Prevention Comparing Different Strategies
It’s always funny when we put things into perspective. Statins are given out seemingly like candy and viewed as the best thing for prevention of CVD in this country. Here is yet another study putting things into perspective.
For those at the very highest risk of CVD, assuming perfect compliance with medication dosage (which is NOT common), we have to treat 285 people to prevent a single death from CVD. Keep in mind that numbers for most drugs are preferred to be on the range of UNDER 10 to 1….This really shows just how incredibly ineffective this class of drugs is at preventing CVD.
Compare this to exercise, healthy diet, stress reduction, fish oil supplementation or Vit D (let alone all combined!). A NNT of 285 compared to these is laughable. THEN, factor in the cost difference and we stop laughing and begin to cry…
