Advertisement

More Americans To Be Prescribed Statins For Cholesterol

09:02
Download Audio
Resume
Tablets of Lipitor, one kind of statin used for lowering blood cholesterol. (Mel Evans/AP)
Tablets of Lipitor, one kind of statin used for lowering blood cholesterol. (Mel Evans/AP)

New guidelines out this week by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology dramatically broaden the definition of patients at risk for heart attack and stroke, and recommend the use of statins for about 35 million new patients.

The guidelines change the way doctors will assess the risk of patients, and urge them to use statins to prevent disease in many more patients now perceived to be at risk for heart attack and stroke.

Dr. Steven Nissen, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, joins Here & Now's Meghna Chakrabarti.

Guest

This segment aired on November 13, 2013.

Advertisement

More from Here & Now

Listen Live
Close