More than half of U.S. adults now eligible for statin therapy under new cholesterol guidelines
More than 56% of U.S. adults between the ages of 30 to 79 years old are now eligible to start undergoing statins, according to new findings published in JAMA.[1]
Those numbers are based on the new dyslipidemia guidelines published in March by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and several other leading medical societies.[2] The 2026 guidelines included several major changes, the researchers noted. The age range targeted for treatment broadened from 40–75 to 30–79, for example, and clinicians started focusing on 30-year risk instead of just 10-year risk.
What do these updates mean for patient care? According to the team’s analysis, many more patients—approximately 21.5 million—are now eligible for statins.
“The shift to a longer view of cardiovascular disease risk is a sea change for doctors in counseling patients,” lead author Timothy S. Anderson, MD, a primary care physician and health quality researcher with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said in a statement. “We wanted to better understand the potential population-health effect of this shift.”
Anderson et al. explored data from a nationally representative sample of adults between the ages of 30 and 79 years old. All data came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Patients who were pregnant or presented with known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) were excluded. The weighted sample included more than 4,300 patients. The mean age was 51 years old, and 52% of patients were women.
Overall, based on that representative sample, the researchers concluded that 56.6% of nonpregnant U.S. adults between the ages of 30 and 79 years old are now eligible for statin therapy. This includes more than 93% of patients between the ages of 70 and 79 and 85% of patients between the ages of 60 and 69.
“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 the same statement. “But for patients seeking to fully minimize risks of heart attacks and strokes, early statin therapy may be a good choice.”
He also emphasized that medication is just one of the many ways patients can work to minimize their ASCVD risk.
“Physicians have long recommended lifestyle changes like healthy diet, exercise and smoking cessation to all their patients, regardless of whether they have high cholesterol—and will continue to do so,” he said.
Read the full study here. Read the new dyslipidemia guidelines here.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.