The STAREE trial, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, found atorvastatin reduced serious heart events in older people free of cardiovascular disease — but did not increase the number of years lived without disability.
A large clinical trial has found that giving statins — cholesterol-lowering drugs (known medically as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) — to older adults who have no existing heart disease does reduce the chance of a major cardiovascular event, but does not mean those patients live longer free of disability. The findings come from the STAREE trial, whose full results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Participants who received atorvastatin — one of the most commonly prescribed statins in the UK — had a lower rate of serious heart events such as heart attacks and strokes compared with those given a placebo over a median follow-up of 5.9 years. Yet the trial found no difference between the two groups in disability-free survival, meaning the drug did not help people stay healthier and independent for longer.
That gap between the two outcomes is the detail most likely to matter to patients and their GPs. Avoiding a heart attack is clearly a benefit — but for many older adults, the bigger concern is whether they’ll remain able to live independently, and on that measure the trial found no advantage.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the trial focused specifically on older adults without pre-existing cardiovascular disease, a group for whom statin prescribing guidance has historically been less clear-cut than for those already diagnosed with heart conditions.
Anyone in Kent with questions about statin treatment or cardiovascular risk should speak to their GP rather than changing or stopping medication based on any single study. NHS 111 is available day and night for general health queries.
Source: @NEJM