Do Women Benefit from Statin Drugs?

For years, doctors have been prescribing statin drugs such as atorvastatin, lovastatin or simvastatin to lower cholesterol and prevent heart attacks. But there have been questions about whether these drugs work in women, since most of the studies have not included many females. A new meta-analysis demonstrates that these drugs can reduce second heart attacks in women just as they do in men.
This analysis found that statins had benefits in both men and women who had already had a heart attack. Such drugs did not prevent stroke or premature death in women. When it comes to preventing an initial heart attack, however, the benefit of statins for men or women is much less apparent.
[Archives of Internal Medicine, June 25. 2012]