Statin Use for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults: Interpretation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death. It is well known that statins can reduce the risk of CVD and CVD-related death through lipid-lowering, anti-inflammatory, and plaque-stabilizing effects. In August 2022, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) conducted an updated recommendations statement on statins for primary prevention of CVD based on new evidence on the benefits and potential harms of statins in reducing CVD morbidity/mortality and all-cause mortality. The USPSTF recommends statins for the primary prevention of CVD for adults aged 40 to 75 years with 1 or more CVD risk factors and an estimated 10-year CVD risk of 10% or greater (B recommendation). The USPSTF recommends that clinicians selectively offer statins for the primary prevention of CVD in adults aged 40 to 75 years who have 1 or more of CVD risk factors and an estimated 10-year CVD risk of 7.5% to less than 10% (C recommendation). The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of using statins for primary prevention of CVD events and mortality in adults aged 76 years and above (I statement). This article interprets the latest recommendations in the context of China to provide reference for the use of statins for the primary prevention of CVD in China.

Keywords

• cardiovascular diseases|statins|primary prevention|adult|guidebook