1.5m more to get cholesterol drug

The number of adults prescribed cholesterol-busting statin drugs in England and Wales is set to soar under new national guidelines, reported The BBC.

GPs are being asked to trawl through patient records to pick out "high-risk" patients who would benefit from them. The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) estimate 1.5m extra adults will get treatment.

But the British Heart Foundation warned those most at risk may still miss out on preventative care.

It comes just a few months after the government announced vascular screening for all 40 to 74 year olds. Cardiovascular disease accounts for around one in three of all deaths.

Under the latest recommendations, GPs would use computer software to pick out those aged 40 to 75 years who are likely to be at high risk of having a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years.

The risk assessment will be based on information such as age, sex, blood pressure and whether a person smokes and not just on whether or not they have high cholesterol.

It will also take into account ethnicity and a patients' family history of heart disease.

Patients will get invited into the surgery to double-check their risk and to be given lifestyle advice in addition to being offered a prescription for simvastatin, the cheapest of the statins.