§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the impact of prescribing practice relating to statins on the risk of a second heart attack to people aged 60 years and over; and if he will make a statement. [65074]
§ Ms BlearsWe have not made a recent assessment of the impact of statin prescribing practice on the risk of second heart attack in people aged over 60.
There is a well established evidence base drawn from several trials for the benefit of statin therapy in preventing further events in patients with established coronary heart disease (CHD). This evidence underpins the guidance on prescribing of statins contained in the national service framework (NSF) for CHD, as amended by the Chief Medical Officer's Update 29 (February 2001). It recommends that people with clinical evidence of CHD should be prescribed statins to lower their cholesterol level to below 5.0mmo1/1 or reduce total serum cholesterol by about 20–25 per cent., whichever would result in the lowest level. Equivalent figures for LDL cholesterol would be 3.0 mmo1/1 or by 30 per cent. reduction, whichever results in the lowest level.
An underlying principle of the NSF that services and treatments should be accessible to everyone on the basis of need, irrespective of age, gender, race, culture, religion, disability, sexual orientation or where people happen to live.