Heart experts call for urgent action to implement new findings on cholesterol-lowering...( common. Dr Richard Horton editor...),Health

Dr Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, who chaired the news briefing, backed the call for a review of the guidelines. "These findings should tear up the rule-book on statin prescribing," he said. "They are the most important and far-reaching results for the treatment and prevention of heart disease and strokes that we have seen in a generation."

One of the most encouraging aspects of the study was that the majority of people now shown to benefit from statins would already be known to their doctors because of their past medical history. HPS clinical coordinator Dr Jane Armitage said: "Implementing these findings does not require massive public health education campaigns by governments. It simply needs the guidelines to be changed so that doctors check their medical records and identify those patients with vascular disease or diabetes who we now know would benefit substantially from statin therapy."

Sir George Radda, Chief Executive of the UK's Medical Research Council, said the implications for managing health were good for both patients and healthcare professionals alike. "Through a single large-scale, well-designed trial we have been able to identify a whole new set of patients with a variety of conditions who can be helped by statins," he said.

Another bonus from HPS was that it established firmly that statin treatment is safe. Professor Peter Sleight, deputy chair of the HPS Steering Committee, said: "HPS should reassure doctors and patients about both the safety and the benefits of statins. It provides clear evidence that statin use safely cuts the risks not just of heart attacks but also of future strokes by about one-third. These findings open the door to treatment for many patients who are currently unlikely to receive a statin in the UK or elsewhere." The research team is currently analysing the financial implications of such changes in prescribing patterns. Said Professor Collins: "We can't yet say
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Contact: Margaret Willson
m.willson@mwcommunications.org.uk
Clinical Trial Service Unit, Oxford University
4-Jul-2002