New statins guidance could make extra 15m people eligible in England

Guidance for NHS says extending cholesterol-lowering treatment could save thousands more lives

As many as 15 million more people could be eligible for cholesterol-lowering statins to protect them against heart attacks and strokes, according to draft guidelines for the NHS in England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says the scope for those who can be considered for the drugs should be widened dramatically – in what would be the single biggest change in a decade – to save thousands more lives.