Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed classes of medication in the US.1 In 2018, atorvastatin was the #1 most prescribed drug in the US with 114 million prescriptions.1 Simvastatin was the 13th most prescribed with 46 million prescriptions. In the US, overall use of statins in adults 40 years and older was 17.9% (21.8 million patients) in 2002 – 2003.2 By 2012 – 2013, statin use increased to 27.8% (39.2 million). In 2012-2013, the most commonly used statins were simvastatin (41.4%) and atorvastatin (28.3%). These were followed by pravastatin (16.2%), rosuvastatin (11.2%), and lovastatin (7.0%).
The 2018 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol recommends statins as the first-line treatment, along with healthy lifestyle practices, for adults with high cholesterol, defined as low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ≥190 mg/dL.3 The guideline also recommends statins for some people with LDL-C <190 mg/dL after an assessment of their risk for future atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events.
References
- Aitken M, Kleinrock M. Medicine use and spending in the U.S.: a review of 2018 and outlook to 2023. In: Parsippany, NJ: IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science; 2019: https://www.iqvia.com/-/media/iqvia/pdfs/institute-reports/medicine-use-and-spending-in-the-us-a-review-of-2017-and-outlook-to-2022.pdf?
- Salami JA, Warraich H, Valero-Elizondo J, et al. National trends in statin use and expenditures in the US adult population from 2002 to 2013: insights from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. JAMA Cardiol 2017; 2 (1): 56-65.
- Grundy SM, Stone NJ, Bailey AL, et al. 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA Guideline on the management of blood cholesterol. Circulation 2018: Cir0000000000000625.
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