Despite persistent negative myths clouding their benefits, statins truly are wonder drugs. Taken once a day in pill form, they slash the swallower's 'bad' LDL cholesterol by as much as 50 percent, drastically reducing their risk of serious cardiovascular ailments and death. A meta-analysis of trials with 135,000 collective participants revealed a "23% reduction in heart attacks, 17% reduction in fatal or non-fatal stroke... and a 12% reduction in all-cause mortality."
Statins are widely recommended to adults aged 40 to 75 years at risk of cardiovascular disease. While it makes intuitive sense that even older adults would benefit as well, data on statins' safety and effectiveness for those aged 75 and up is limited. A trio of researchers based out of Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel sought to fill the gap.
Using data from the electronic medical records of Carmel Medical Center, the scientists compared the health outcomes of 8,413 individuals aged 80 and above who were continuing users of statins with those of 7,332 similar elderly patients not using statins over an average of four years per patient.
The researchers' findings mirrored or even exceeded the benefits found in younger adults. Patients on statins enjoyed a 31 percent relative reduction in mortality compared to patients not taking statins over the study's duration.
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