https://goo.gl/iCK3Ir
Seniors don't get a cardiovascular or mortality benefit from taking a moderate-dose statin for primary prevention, according to a post hoc subgroup analysis of ALLHAT-LLT.
In the overall neutral open-label trial, analysis restricted to participants ages 65 and older, showed that randomization to pravastatin (Pravachol) likewise didn't impact the primary endpoint of all-cause mortality during 6 years, Benjamin Han, MD, MPH, of the New York University School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues reported online in JAMA Internal Medicine.
An accompanying editor's note by Gregory Curfman, MD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, acknowledged statin risks that "may be particularly problematic in older people" and concluded the ALLHAT-LLT results "should be considered before prescribing or continuing statins for patients in this age category."
Physicians contacted by MedPage Today were universally skeptical that the analysis should have any clinical impact.