DOUBLE-dose of statins ‘significantly reduces risk of a heart attack’
A DOUBLE-dose of statins could help millions slash their risk of dying by up to a fifth, a major study claims.
It looked at more than 500,000 heart patients – and found the higher the dose, the better their chance of survival.
Around 2.3 million Brits have coronary heart disease.
Normal NHS practice is to start them on a standard dose of the cholesterol-busting drugs.
But experts claim they would fare much better on high-intensity statins – double the strength of normal pills.
Stanford University researchers found those on the strongest drugs had a four per cent risk of death in the next 12 months.
That compared with a 4.8 per cent chance for those on standard pills - a gap of 20 per cent.
When scientists adjusted for other risk factors, the difference fell to nine per cent.
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Lead researcher Dr Fatima Rodriguez, a cardiology fellow at Stanford, said: "The results show that high-intensity statins confer a survival advantage for patients with cardiovascular disease, including older adults.
"This suggests to practitioners that instead of starting a patient on a low dose, just to go ahead and put them on the maximum dose they can tolerate."
Around seven million adults in the UK take statins to reduce their heart risk.
They reduce high levels of blood cholesterol, which is known to contribute to the stiffening and narrowing of arteries.
But they also trigger side-effects, including muscle pain, memory loss, depression, and sexual difficulties.
The study is published in the journal JAMA Cardiology.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said high-intensity treatment is equal to a double-dose of normal statins.
Commenting on the study, he said: "This large study showed that more intensive statin treatment reduced death rates further than low-intensity or no treatment in people with cardiovascular disease.
“Heart disease is incurable - we have no way to reverse the furring of the arteries that can lead to a deadly heart attack or stroke.
“Statins can help save lives by slowing the progression of the disease.
"While this research confirms the greater benefit of more intensive treatment, decisions on dosage require conversations between patients and their doctors."
An NHS watchdog said 17 million adults - two in every five – should get the pill to cut their heart risk, including almost all OAPs.
Greek researchers have also found statin can improve men's erections.
The found the pills boost blood flow in a similar way to Viagra.