ST. PAUL, Minn., July 31 (UPI) -- Doctors are routinely "underdosing" statins for patients at risk for heart attacks and strokes due to elevated levels of "bad" cholesterol, even though the drugs have proven safe and effective, a top U.S. researcher maintains.
At a time when an estimated 40% of U.S. adults have metabolic syndrome -- a combination of heart risk factors including obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance -- doctors usually don't start them off with the maximum dosage of statins, even though they can quickly lower levels of LDL cholesterol, according to an opinion published this month in the medical journal Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine.
Co-author Dr. Charles Hennekens, the Sir Richard Doll Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine at Florida Atlantic University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine in Boca Raton, says his analysis of several major clinical studies of the new generation of highly potent statins, such as rosuvastatin and atorvastatin, shows that maximal doses are safe and sorely needed, but aren't being prescribed.
Those with metabolic syndrome have cardiovascular risks equivalent to those with prior heart attacks or strokes, yet many are "undertreated" by starting their statin regimens at low or moderate dosages, Hennekens told UPI.
