Millions of statins will go to low-risk over 40s

"Millions of healthy people with no obvious sign of illness could be put on cholesterol-lowering drugs, Britain's heart 'tsar' has signalled, as new research showed that they cut the chance of heart attack by almost a half. Around one in four adults aged over 40 is to be prescribed statins on the NHS under current plans. But a wide-scale study, published yesterday, has found that the drugs are even more effective than previously thought in people who appear healthy. Prof Roger Boyle, the national director for heart disease and stroke, said the NHS rationing watchdog - the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) - would now review whether more patients, who show no signs of being unwell, should receive statins - Telegraph