Scrip 100: Statin debate set to run and run
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Earlier this year, as expected, final guidance on the use of statins in individuals with a relatively low risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) was issued by NICE, the health technology body for England and Wales. The new guidance lowered the treatment threshold from a 20% risk of CVD over ten years to 10%, and was published as it emerged that the use of statins had in any case expanded enormously – from 21.6 million prescriptions in England in 2003 to 63.1 million prescriptions in 2013.
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