Heart disease is a major problem all over the world. In the United States, it’s the number one killer, causing a death every 34 seconds.
This is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks health data for the country.
There’s a type of medicine called statins that doctors often recommend for people at high risk of heart disease.
These medicines can lower the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, which can help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
A Surprising Study on Statin Refusal
However, a new study has found something surprising: a lot of people, more than 20%, say no to taking statins even though they are at high risk of heart disease.
The study also found that women were more likely than men to refuse statins. Women were 20% more likely to say no when their doctor first suggested the medication and 50% more likely to never accept the recommendation at all.
People who refused statins ended up with higher levels of bad cholesterol, which likely made their risk of heart disease even greater.
The study was done by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which is part of the Mass General Brigham health care system. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open, a medical journal.
Understanding Patient Preferences
Alex Turchin, a doctor, and researcher involved in the study, said that it’s important to understand why people are saying no to statins.
He believes doctors need to talk more with their patients and find out what their concerns and preferences are. Only then can they provide care that is truly centered on the patient.
The study included more than 24,000 patients at high risk of heart disease. These patients had conditions like diabetes, very high cholesterol, or had suffered a stroke, which increased their risk.
The doctors recommended statins to all of them to reduce their risk of heart disease. But even among these high-risk patients, a lot of people said no to the medication. About one-third of the patients never tried statins.
People who initially refused statins took three times longer to reduce their bad cholesterol levels to a safe range, compared to those who started the medication right away.
Why Do Women Say No to Statins More Often Than Men?
The most surprising finding was that women were much more likely to refuse statins than men.
The researchers think this might be because women wrongly believe that heart disease is more of a problem for men. The researchers plan to look more into this.
Dr. Turchin said they need to understand why patients prefer not to take statins. He is currently studying the effects of refusing statin therapy on patient outcomes, including heart attacks, strokes, and death.
“I think people underestimate how much of a difference modern medicine has made in extending people’s lives, and their quality of life, and medications can play a big role in that,” he said.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about supplements that could help prevent heart disease, stroke, and results showing that a year of committed exercise in middle age reversed worrisome heart failure.
The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
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