Statins slash the risk of dying of heart attacks and strokes by 28 per cent, a major study has revealed.
Scientists say the benefits of the pills are so convincing that they should be offered to patients in their 30s and 40s.
The 20-year-trial – the longest of its kind so far – looked at 5,529 men aged 45 to 64 who were in relatively good health.
Half were given a weak type of statin to take daily for between five and 20 years and the remainder were given a placebo, or dummy drug.
Those men who took statins were 28 per cent less likely to have died from a heart attack or stroke within that 20 year time frame.
They also had a 25 per cent lower risk of suffering a heart attack over that period.
Scientists say the benefits of the pills are so convincing that they should be offered to patients in their 30s and 40s
Although the study only involved men, the scientists from Imperial College London say similar benefits would be seen in women.
Up to six million adults in Britain currently take statins to lower their cholesterol levels and thereby reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
But many doctors and patients are worried about their long-term harms and they have been linked to diabetes, muscular pain and memory loss.
Supporters on the other hand including the health watchdog Nice say the pills should be prescribed much more widely to prevent thousands of early deaths.
Previous research has found statins are very effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes in patients who have already had one.
But this study – published in the journal Circulation – showed they were also very beneficial in men who were in relatively good health, with no history of heart disease.
The men all had high levels of high cholesterol, a condition which affects up to 10 per cent of adults in the UK.
For the first time, we show that statins reduce the risk of death in this specific group of people who appear largely healthy except for very high levels of bad cholesterol
Professor Kausik Ray, the lead author of the study
This causes the blood vessels to become blocked, restricting the flow of blood and over time, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Professor Kausik Ray, the lead author of the study, said statins should be offered to patients in their 30s, 40s and 50s with high levels of cholesterol.
‘There are very clear survival benefits.’ He said.
‘For the first time, we show that statins reduce the risk of death in this specific group of people who appear largely healthy except for very high levels of bad cholesterol.’
The study – carried out jointly with the University of Glasgow –was part funded by drugs firms who make statins including Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sankyo.
But the researchers said the manufacturers ‘had no influence’ on the either the design of the trial or the results.
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘This research further demonstrates the benefits of statins for people who have high levels of cholesterol in their blood.
‘It shows the enduring and long-term benefit of taking statins, including the extent to which they reduce the risk of dying from heart disease, which can only be seen in a study of this length.
‘The role of cholesterol in causing heart disease has been disputed by some, but this paper provides yet more evidence of the link, and the benefits of statins to prevent heart disease.’
Statins work by reducing the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood and preventing the build-up of fatty deposits which can trigger heart attacks and strokes.
Only last month a separate study by Harvard University claimed they were so effective they should be offered to all men over 60 and women over 75.
Patients are meant to be offered statins if they are deemed to have a 10 per cent risk of having a heart attack or stroke within the next ten years.
GPs work this out using a computer calculation which takes into account their weight, diet, exercise levels, family history and certain other factors.
Experts believe that around 12 million adults in the UK should be taking statins according to this calculation, although only six million are currently on them.
Opponents of the pills include Dr Aseem Malhotra, a consultant cardiologist at Frimley Park Hospital Trust in Surrey, who questioned results of this latest study.
He said the evidence so far had shown that statins did not benefit the ‘overwhelming majority of people’
The drugs also came with ‘significant, quality of life-interfering side effects’, he added.
Figures show that approximately a tenth of patients taking statins experience muscle and joint pain, sore throats, an increased risk of diabetes and headaches.
A further 1 per cent put on weight or suffer insomnia, dizziness, loss of appetite, memory problems, blurred vision or extreme fatigue.
Last September the UK’s two leading medical journals went to war over the safety of statins.
The Lancet published a major study claiming the benefits of the pills outweighed the risks and could prevent 80,000 heart attacks and strokes a year.
But the British Medical Journal warned they were more dangerous than previously thought and called for an independent review.