The following appeared in an editorial in the Los Angeles Times:
According to two respected medical organizations, up to twice as many of us — nearly a third of all adults — should be taking statins to avoid heart attack and stroke. But statins, the potent cholesterol-lowering medications, are associated with some difficult side effects, including muscle pain. And, once prescribed, they are generally taken for life.
Last week, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology concluded the drug should be prescribed for people with at least a 7.5 percent chance of having a heart attack within the next decade, a lower threshold than before. The groups devised an online calculator to determine that risk.
But the new advice sparked immediate controversy and complaints the calculator might overrate people's risks.
It's hard to imagine a more important public health topic than preventing heart attacks. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in this country.
The panel that wrote the report spent years examining studies and has been widely praised for recommending doctors determine their patients' overall risk of having a heart attack or stroke, rather than simply trying to lower cholesterol levels to a preset target. Yet, some critics have accused the panel that wrote the report of pushing pills.
And the panel now says it will re-examine its risk calculator in light of the complaints that it would identify millions of people as "at risk" who are not.
These are exactly the kinds of complicated issues that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force excels in examining. Before the nation embarks on a radical shift that could double the number of people taking statins, this independent, the congressionally authorized group should deliver a second opinion.