Cholesterol-lowering drugs under-prescribed for prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Statins, the most commonly used effective lipid-lowering drugs, are significantly underutilized to treat lipid abnormalities in patients with and at risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), according to a retrospective study of more than 280,000 patients in Alberta, Canada. Investigators report that only two-thirds of these patients were receiving moderate/high-intensity statins, and of the ones treated, more than a third are under-treated.