### Statin Drugs and Heart Disease Prevention More than 45 million Americans are currently eligible to take statin drugs to prevent heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks or strokes. However, this number might change soon due to new guidelines and risk calculators. In 2023, the American Heart Association released an updated risk calculator called the Predicting Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Events (PREVENT) equations. This new calculator uses more recent data and different factors compared to the older 2013 version. For example, it includes kidney function and statin use but excludes race, recognizing that there are no biological differences between races. A study using this new calculator found that the average 10-year risk of heart disease among adults dropped from 8% to 4.3%. As a result, the number of adults meeting the criteria for statin use decreased from 45.4 million to 28.3 million. This means that 17.3 million adults who were previously recommended to take statins would no longer be considered eligible, including 4.1 million who are currently taking them. The new guidelines are expected to be reviewed and possibly updated in the near future. This could lead to fewer people being prescribed statins, but it also highlights the importance of personalized medical advice. Doctors will continue to consider individual factors such as family history and overall health when recommending treatments. Despite these changes, it's important to note that many people who could benefit from statins and other preventive measures are not currently taking them. This is a broader issue of undertreatment in preventive care, which includes managing blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes. Addressing these issues requires not only medical intervention but also societal changes to improve access to care and treatment.