For elderly patients taking statins for primary prevention, statin discontinuation is associated with an increased risk for admission for any cardiovascular event, according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal.

Philippe Giral, M.D., from Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, and colleagues examined the effect of statin discontinuation on cardiovascular outcomes in previously adherent 75-year-olds treated for primary prevention. Discontinuation of statins was defined as three consecutive months without exposure.

A total of 120,173 participants were followed for an average of 2.4 years. Of these participants, 14.3 percent discontinued statins and 4.5 percent were admitted for a cardiovascular event. The researchers found that for statin discontinuation, the adjusted hazard ratios were 1.33 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.18 to 1.50) for admission for any cardiovascular event, 1.46 (95 percent CI, 1.21 to 1.75) for any coronary event, 1.26 (95 percent CI, 1.05 to 1.51) for any cerebrovascular event, and 1.02 (95 percent CI, 0.74 to 1.40) for any vascular event.

"The results of this study suggest potential cardiovascular risk reduction associated with continuing statin therapy after the age of 75 years in persons already taking these drugs for primary prevention," the authors write.

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