More than half of patients on statins fail to reach healthy cholesterol levels

Scientists in the U.K. evaluated more than 165,000 patients who were on statin therapy to lower their cholesterol levels and found that 51% of the patients did not reach healthy levels of cholesterol two years after starting the medication. That group of patients was followed for an average of 6 1/2 years, and researchers found that about 14% of them experienced a related complication such as coronary artery disease or a stroke. Those who met the healthy levels of cholesterol while on statins didn’t fare much better — 13% experienced cardiovascular complications. The study was unable to account for patients who didn’t stick with their statin regimen, but the authors said the findings “contribute to the debate on the effectiveness of statin therapy and highlight the need for personalised medicine” when it comes to treating cholesterol.