New U.S. guidelines recommend statins for more groups

Statins should be prescribed to adults 40-75 years of age who have a 10-year risk of a heart attack or stroke that is 7.5% or higher, according to a series of guidelines released on Tuesday by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology. Previous 2004 statin guidelines recommended the drugs for people with a 10-year risk of coronary heart disease that was 20% or higher. Those guidelines did not account for risk of stroke. ...