Controversial guidelines issued by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 2011 would put half a million youngsters on statin-type drugs, according to a new study.
The investigators based at Boston Children’s Hospital examined data from 6,300 volunteers between 17 and 21 years old. Blood levels of cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease would qualify 2.5% of them to be treated with a statin such as atorvastatin or simvastatin, according to the NHLBI guidelines. Recommendations from the American Heart Association are more conservative and would put fewer than 0.5% of Americans that age on a statin.
How to Resolve Conflicting Recommendations?
The conflicts between these guidelines pose a quandary for both doctors and patients. Some cardiologists believe that for such young people, developing good dietary and exercise habits, quitting smoking and losing weight should take priority over a prescription that would need to be taken for life. Others, however, are enthusiastic about the benefits of statins, even for teenagers.
