MONDAY, July 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- The 2026 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/multisociety guideline on the management of dyslipidemia has increased the U.S. population recommended for primary prevention statin therapy, according to a study published online July 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Timothy S. Anderson, M.D., from the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues examined the population health impact of the 2026 guideline on primary prevention statin therapy in a cross-sectional sample of nonpregnant adults aged 30 to 79 years without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The weighted sample included 4,366 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants.
Of the participants, 5.5, 17.8, and 8.6 percent, respectively, had untreated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <70 mg/dL, reported currently taking statins, and met criteria for statin eligibility independent of ASCVD risk estimation; the remaining 68.0 percent met the guideline criteria for ASCVD risk estimation to guide statin decisions. The researchers found that an estimated 87.5 million nonpregnant U.S. adults aged 30 to 79 years were eligible for statins based on the 2026 guideline, and of these individuals, 21.5 million were newly eligible. More than 93, 85, and 11 percent of adults aged 70 to 79, 60 to 69, and 30 to 39 years, respectively, were eligible for primary prevention statin therapy. Compared with populations previously recommended statin therapy, newly statin-eligible populations were largely younger and lower risk (mean estimated 10-year ASCVD risk, 3.1 versus 6.1 percent).
"Many of my younger patients wonder why they can't put off starting treatment -- which is understandable, given they might have low risk of a cardiovascular event 10 years out -- and some likely can with a strong focus on healthy diet, exercise and weight," Anderson said in a statement. "But for patients seeking to fully minimize risks of heart attacks and strokes, early statin therapy may be a good choice."
