High dose statins good for older patients

ATLANTA, July 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found older patients with stable cardiovascular disease benefit from high dosage cholesterol lowering drugs used by younger patients.

Lead investigator Dr. Nanette Wenger, a professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, said researchers found not only do older patients benefit from statin therapy, but aggressive use of high-dose statins to reduce LDL cholesterol to levels lower than 100 mg/dL, provided additional benefit.

The study, funded by drug manufacturer Pfizer, is said to be the first to compare the effects of 80 mg versus 10 mg doses of the same statin formulation, Lipitor, in older patients. Earlier data show the minimum dosage 10 mg can reduce LDL levels 30 percent to 40 percent, while the maximum dosage 80 mg can lower LDL levels by 50 percent.

"This reinforces what I have been doing clinically for my older patients, and that is treating them as aggressively as patients younger than 65 years of age." said Dr. Wenger.

The research is reported in the July 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.