Statins benefits revealed

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The drugs can reduce the risk of heart attacks by more than a quarter in men, according to the report's lead author.

Researchers at Glasgow University found long-term benefits in taking statins, currently taken by three million people in the UK.

People taking the drug for five years were still experiencing the benefits 10 years after they stopped taking them, with a reduced risk of coronary disease.

Professor Stuart Cobbe, the leading cardiologist on the study, told a newspaper: "The benefit appeared to extend to at least ten years after the original trial."

The 15 year West of Scotland Coronary Prevention study involved 6,595 men from the region, with an average age of 55, who had high cholesterol.

They were recruited between 1989 and 1991 and split in half, with one group given a placebo and the other half given pravastatin.

Their health was followed for five years, until 1995, with the results showing that the statin users had a lower risk of strokes and heart disease.

The latest research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined the same group ten and 15 years later.

It found that there was a "significant" reduction in coronary problems for people who had taken statins for five years.