Statins: Reality vs. Hype

Statins are touted as miracle drugs, but are they really as effective at saving lives as the claims imply?

CLAIM: Statins reduce cardiovascular events by 30 to 40%.

THE REAL WORLD: Those numbers come from the drug company selling the drug. They are citing results comparing the statin group to the placebo group in their own sponsored product trial. But watch out! They are showing only the numbers they want you to see, and not talking about the numbers they don't want you to know about.

What they are not telling you is roughly 100 people had to take the drug to prevent one cardiovascular event ( heart attack, stroke, or death from CVD causes.) The other 99 people taking the drug got no benefit. This is called the NUMBER NEEDED TO TREAT. Meaning 100 people had to take the drug for just one person to benefit. In this scenario only 1 person in 100 avoided a heart attack, so the absolute risk reduction is only 1%. That's a far cry from the 30 to 40% in the advertisements.

Statins are very effective at lowering cholesterol. No question about that. But preventing heart disease, heart attacks and strokes is another story. And few consumers are aware just how ineffective these drugs are.


MEDIA CLAIM: Statins have saved millions of lives.

REALITY: People who take statins don't live one day longer than those who don't, nor do the drug companies make any longevity claims. They know better than to do that.

Heart disease began its decline in the United States after 1968, and has steadily declined since then. Statins came onto the market in 1987. The decline rate in heart disease deaths pre and post statins has remained unchanged.