STATINS, the controversial heart drugs, add only three days to a patient’s life, research reveals.
The study contradicts the widely held view that they save lives and last night health experts demanded a radical overhaul in the use of the drugs – which have been linked with severe and debilitating side-effects such as diabetes, muscle pain and cataracts – claiming the research reveals patients have been “misled” over “exaggerated” benefits.
The British Medical Journal, which published the findings, called for a review of prescribing guidelines for statins which are routinely given to up to 12 million patients. Professor Jesper Hallas led the research, which assessed 11 major studies on statins, including patients at lower and high risk of heart disease. It followed patients for up to six years. The research compared patients who took the drugs with those who unknowingly took a placebo. It concluded: “Statin treatment results in a surprisingly small average gain in overall survival within the trials’ running time.”
Statins increased life expectancy by just three days for those people who did not already have a diagnosis of existing heart disease or associated symptoms. Patients who had already suffered a heart attack, stroke or associated symptoms increased their longevity by four days by taking statins.
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http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/612801/Statins-drugs-ineffective-heart-drug
Filed under: Uncategorized, New research, Statins
