(DailyMail.co.uk) — Everyone over 55 should be offered statins to cut their risk of heart attacks and strokes, no matter how high their cholesterol or blood pressure readings, a leading doctor said last night.
Professor Sir Nicholas Wald said prescribing cholesterol-busting statins and blood pressure pills based on age alone would be much easier and quicker than the current system.
This takes into account a range of factors and requires GPs to carry out various tests.
Patients would not be taking the drugs needlessly because almost everyone of a certain age could benefit from having lower blood pressure or cholesterol, no matter what level it is to begin with, Sir Nicholas said.
However, concerns about the side-effects of the drugs mean that the proposal would be controversial. It is also unclear whether people would be willing to take tablets when they have not had an examination to show there is anything wrong with them.
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