Statins: Risk-benefits and role in treating dyslipidemias

Statins are the mainstay of therapy for the management of dyslipidemia, and particularly elevations in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Currently available statins include atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin. The advent of statin therapy has contributed to a substantial decrease in cardiovascular mortality over the past several decades. Results from multiple clinical trials have shown conclusively that lowering LDL-C levels leads to clinical event reduction in primary and secondary prevention, for both men and women, and across various other patient subgroups. Extensive clinical experience indicates that statin therapy may be initiated and maintained over the long term with a high degree of safety, and adverse effects associated with statin use are outweighed by their proven benefits in clinical event reduction.