Statin discontinuation: an underestimated risk?

ABSTRACT

Statin treatment is essential for the prevention of vascular disease. Despite the established benefits of statins, discontinuation of these agents is frequent. Whether statin discontinuation leads to adverse outcomes is still debated and the most convincing evidence is mainly restricted to patients who experienced an acute vascular event. It is important to establish if this phenomenon extends to other

populations, like those without vascular disease but with a high calculated risk. Overall, it appears that even a brief discontinuation of statins might be harmful. Therefore, statin treatment should not be interrupted except if there is a very good reason. Moreover, patients should be instructed as to why they must adhere to their medication. Adherence should be monitored regularly.

Key words: :

• Adherence
• Coronary heart disease
• Myocardial infarction
• Vascular risk

Acknowledgements

Declaration of interest: This Editorial was written independently; no company or institution supported it financially. Some of the authors have attended conferences, given lectures and participated in advisory boards or trials sponsored by various pharmaceutical companies. Konstantinos Tziomalos is supported by a grant from the Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society.