Statins news: Experts call for chronic kidney disease sufferers to be offered statins
STATINS should be routinely offered on the NHS to everyone suffering chronic kidney disease, it will be announced today.
Statins should be routinely offered on the NHS to everyone suffering chronic kidney disease
Health chiefs say the commonly prescribed drugs - specifically atorvastatin - should be handed out as a way to manage sufferers’ increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Chronic kidney disease is a long-term condition where the organs no longer work as well as they used to. It is associated with ageing.
The condition affects around 2.6 million people in England and 60,000 people die prematurely each year because of the disease.
Research shows there is a clear link between reduced kidney function and cardiovascular disease.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Government’s drug rationing body, recommends 20mg of atorvastatin as the preferred initial high-intensity statin because “it is both clinically and cost effective”.
Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive at NICE, said: “We know that a high number of people with long-term kidney problems will develop cardiovascular disease. This means they have an increased risk of suffering a fatal heart attack or stroke.
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“It is important for health care professionals to speak to patients about their treatment options. The effectiveness of statins is now well proven, as is their long term safety. They may appeal to a lot of people who are at risk.”
Commonly prescribed drug atorvastatin
The final standard comes as medics remain at loggerheads over the safety of statins with some suggesting those who stop taking them were putting their lives in danger.
The effectiveness of statins is now well proven
Others argue there is “no consistent evidence” the pills reduce death rates and claim the pro-statin lobby has used “cherry-picked science” to promote their use.
Statins, which cost a few pence, are taken by six million Britons, but they remain highly controversial with many patients complaining of muscle aches (myopathy), memory loss, kidney problems and sleep disturbance.
Chronic kidney disease is a long-term condition where the organs no longer work as well
The most common are fluvastatin (Lescol), pravastatin (Lipostat), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor). They cost around £2 a month.
The number of people taking the tablets could rise to 12 million if the majority of men over 50 and women over 60 took the drug as a precaution, research reveals.
A comprehensive Anglo-American study, published last week in the Pharmaceutical Journal, concluded that cholesterol itself does not cause heart disease. It suggested the safest way to achieve a healthy heart is through better diet and exercise.
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in England and Wales
Consultant cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, of Lister Hospital in Stevenage, Herts, who co-authored the report, insisted: “Despite fearmongering from scientists who take money from the drug companies, there is no evidence of a single person suffering a heart attack or dying from not taking statins.”
The British Heart Foundation’s associate medical director Jeremy Pearson said: “They’re the most commonly prescribed medication in the UK for a reason - with or without side effects, they’re proven to lower a person’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke.”
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in England and Wales, accounting for a third of all deaths.
Around 180,000 people die every year - 50,000 before the age of 75.