The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7355 p785
25 June 2005

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News summary

Statin treatment is often sub-optimal

Despite recommendations that those with coronary heart disease or a high risk of developing it should aim for cholesterol levels of less than 5mmol/L, a substantial number of patients fail to achieve these levels. This is the key theme of a report published by HEART UK this week, showing that up to 50 per cent of patients fail to meet these levels, despite treatment with a statin.

“The forgotten 50” (PDF 1 MB) collates published evidence that lipid-lowering drugs are not always used correctly, that statins are often not initiated at evidence-based doses and up-titration does not always take place. It suggests that tolerability issues may affect the proportion of people who try a high-dose statin, and highlights schemes to help with concordance such as that run by the Medicines Partnership.

The report also looks at evidence that flaws in administrative structures may lead to patients on statins not being followed up, and says that management strategies need to be improved to reduce the incidence of the disease.

Merck Sharp & Dohme and Schering-Plough, the sponsors of the report, launched Inegy this week, a combination product for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia.


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