Lancet Study Emphasizes Long Term Benefit and Safety of Statin Use

Richard Bulbulia, MD, of the Heart Protection Study Group reported in the Lancet that statin medications are safe and effective over long periods of time.  They looked at 20,536 patients at high risk for vascular events. They studied patients who were between 40 and 80 years old. These patients were randomized to one group receiving Simvastatin (Zocor) daily at the 40 mg dose or placebo for 5.3 years. They were then followed for another six years during which both groups received the statin.

Researchers found that during the initial 5.3 years of the study there was a 23% decrease in major vascular events and an 18% reduction in vascular mortality in the Simvastatin treated group.

They also looked at complications of therapy over the eleven year period and concluded, “Reassuringly, there was no evidence that any adverse effect on particular causes of non–vascular mortality or major morbidity, including site-specific cancer, was emerging during this prolonged follow-up period.”  In an editorial in the same edition, Payal Kohli, MD and Christopher Cannon, MD of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said the results “provide contemporary and confirmatory evidence that extended use of statins is safe with respect to possible risk of cancer and non-vascular mortality.”

It is noted that the dosages used are higher than what the FDA currently recommends for Simvastatin due to the risk of muscle injury at higher doses. Despite that, the Lancet editorialists concluded that “concerns should be put to rest and doctors should feel reassured about the long-term safety of this life saving treatment for patients at increased cardiovascular risk.”