Statin Use for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults: Recommendation Statement.

A collection of USPSTF recommendation statements published in AFP is available at http://www. aafp.org/afp/uspstf. Summary of Recommendations and Evidence The USPSTF recommends that adults without a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (i.e., symptomatic coronary artery disease or ischemic stroke) use a lowto moderate-dose statin for the prevention of CVD events and mortality when all of the following criteria are met: (1) they are aged 40 to 75 years; (2) they have 1 or more CVD risk factors (i.e., dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, or smoking); and (3) they have a calculated 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event of 10% or greater (Table 1). B recommendation. Identification of dyslipidemia and calculation of 10-year CVD event risk requires universal lipids screening in adults aged 40 to 75 years. See the “Clinical Considerations” section for more information on lipids screening and the assessment of cardiovascular risk. Although statin use may be beneficial for the primary prevention of CVD events in some adults with a 10-year CVD event risk of less than 10%, the likelihood of benefit is smaller, because of a lower probability of disease and uncertainty in individual risk prediction. Clinicians may choose to offer a lowto moderate-dose statin to certain adults without a history of CVD when all of the following criteria are met: 1) they are aged 40 to 75 years; 2) they have 1 or more CVD risk factors (i.e., dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, or smoking); and 3) they have a calculated 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event of 7.5% to 10%. C recommendation. The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of initiating statin use for the primary prevention of CVD events and mortality in adults 76 years and older without a history of heart attack or stroke. I statement. CONSIDERATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION