Doctors are set to get extra payments to hand out controversial statin drugs to patients who face a low risk of ever developing heart disease.
It could mean four in 10 adults, including most of those in late middle age, are put on regular doses in a move that “medicalises” healthy people, leaving them at risk of side-effects including diabetes and memory loss.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
Medical experts are angry that doctors are being offered incentives to prescribe the drugs by a government watchdog, which they say is of “doubtful benefit and may cause harm”
Yet many heart specialists say that for a large number of patients the benefits do not outweigh the risks, which include diabetes, cataracts, debilitating muscle pains, memory loss and fatigue.
They say doctors instead should be advising patients to follow a healthy diet and lifestyle to decrease the risk of heart attacks.
Read More: Medical experts furious that doctors will be paid to dole out ‘risky’ statins
Niamh Harris
Latest posts by Niamh Harris (see all)
- CBS Weather Presenter Collapses Live On Air - March 20, 2023
- Elizabeth Warren: There’s No Reason To Protest Trump’s Arrest, ‘This is the Law Operating as it Should’ - March 20, 2023
- ‘I’m Glad I Had Kids Before I Transitioned’ Says Rachle Levine Who Wants To ‘Normalize’ Gender Affirming Treatment For Children - March 20, 2023