New guidelines for statin eligibility improve prediction of cardiovascular risk

The new guidelines for determining whether patients should begin taking statins to prevent cardiovascular disease issued in 2013 by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) are more accurate and more efficient than an earlier set of guidelines in assigning treatment to adults at increased risk for cardiovascular events - including heart attacks and strokes - and identifying those whose low risk rules out the need to take statins. In their paper appearing ...