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Study Supports Wider Use of Statins

The study indicates that statin therapy should be started 10 years earlier in men than in women with the same risk factors, he said.

"Statins should be prescribed in older men with a single risk factor and in older women with several risk factors," he said.

Only minimal side effects of statin therapy were found in the meta-analysis, Deckers said. No increased risk of cancer was seen, and the incidence of myalgia, the muscle pain that can accompany statin use, was one case in 10,000 persons, he said.

Many people who now take aspirin to reduce cardiovascular risk would be better off with statin therapy, Deckers said. Aspirin's anti-clotting effects reduce the risk of artery blockage but increase the risk of excess bleeding, he noted.

"It would be better to switch to a statin because of a better benefit-risk ratio," Deckers added. "With aspirin, the benefit is relatively low and the risk is relatively high."