Stopping statins after 75 linked to higher cardiovascular risk
The combined rate of major cardiovascular events and death was 61 per 1,000 person-years after stopping, versus 46 with continued statin use.
Limit: Participants were drawn from a single health system in Israel
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational study reviewed past health records for 71,439 adults aged 75 or older who took cholesterol-lowering statins. They had no established cardiovascular disease caused by plaque buildup in arteries and took statins to prevent it. Researchers used records from Clalit Health Services in Israel.
Of these adults, 67,188 continued statins and 4,251 stopped. The main outcome combined heart attacks, strokes caused by blocked blood flow and death from any cause. Rates were 61 per 1,000 person-years among those who stopped and 46 among those who continued. Person-years account for how long people were followed. Stopping statins remained associated with higher risk after adjustment for measured differences between groups. The associations also held for each outcome separately.
Why it matters
Randomized evidence on preventive statin use beyond age 75 is limited. The findings support careful reassessment before routinely stopping these medicines in older adults.
Caveats
This observational study cannot show that stopping statins caused the higher risk. The conference abstract did not report follow-up duration, and the study did not cover younger adults or people with established cardiovascular disease caused by plaque buildup.
The paper
Statin discontinuation after age 75 and cardiovascular risk in primary prevention
Clalit Health services; Haifa District
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
