Issue 211 Item 1 ADA Guidelines Recommend Statins for Most Diabetics

Almost everyone with diabetes should consider taking a statin drug to lower cholesterol, even if they already have low cholesterol levels, the American Diabetes Association advised on Thursday. Diabetic patients are at such high risk of heart disease that the statins almost certainly will do them some good, the group said in its latest treatment guidelines. Diabetics should also consider taking a daily aspirin, too, the new guidelines stated.

“It may well be that everybody with diabetes should be on a statin,” said Dr. Nathaniel Clark, vice-president for clinical affairs for the group. “We know that statins lower low-density cholesterol but they may also have some other qualities that have not been tested,” Clark said.

An estimated 18 million Americans have diabetes, and 90% to 95% have type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Clark said the ADA decided to add statins to the guidelines after seeing the results of a British study, published earlier this year in The Lancet, which showed that statin use can lower stroke risk by one third. Their study included adults over the age of 40 whose total cholesterol levels were as low as 135.

Dr. Clark said diabetics are a special case. “It is now a consensus that having diabetes is the equivalent in terms of cardiovascular risk of already having had a heart attack,” Dr. Clark said.

Worldwide, 25 million people take statins, but up to 200 million could be eligible if these guidelines are adopted.
The drugs are not cheap, however. The United States already spends $12. 64th ADA Scientific Sessions 5 billion on statin drugs, more than on any other type of drug. ====================================================

FACT: Of the 2678 retired men in the Honolulu Heart Program, those who walked less that 1/4 mile per day (about 500 steps) had twice as much risk of coronary heart disease compared with those who walked 1.5 miles (about 3000 steps) or more per day.” — Circulation: Effects of walking on coronary heart disease in elderly men: the Honolulu Heart Program..

Did You Know
The world’s smallest meter. The world’s smallest sample size. And the most sites from which to test. FreeStyle Flash provides exactly what you have come to expect when you think of FreeStyle — reliability and virtually painless testing with unsurpassed accuracy.
Click Here