Matters of the heart: India’s statin problem

Some doctors are proposing rejigging thresholds that could medicate low-risk patients and create a market for an expensive drug approved in July

Indians are twice as likely as Europeans to get heart disease. And a decade earlier, too. Scientists don’t know why

To reduce their risk, some doctors say Indians should be treated aggressively with cholesterol-lowering drugs

Their viewpoints align with those of the pharmaceutical industry, which earned Rs 2,625 crore from statin sales last year

The industry sponsors doctors who educate peers on the need for aggressive cholesterol treatment

A woman, 31, went to her doctor for a routine checkup in May. Her lab report showed cholesterol levels outside the normal range (LDL: 117 milligrams per decilitre of blood (mg/dL); TG: 255 mg/dL; HDL: 37 mg/dL). She smokes around five cigarettes a day. Her doctor prescribed her a statin, a drug that acts to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, for six months. After that, they would retest her blood.

Was the doctor right?

India is in the middle of a statin over-prescription and under-prescription crisis. Rich, urban folks—the ones who can afford private hospitals in big cities—are being oversold statins.

AUTHOR

Gayathri Vaidyanathan

Gayathri writes on health, environment and science. She has reported and produced stories for the Washington Post, Discover, Nature, and the New York Times, amongst other publications. In her last assignment, she was the lead science writer for E&E News in Washington, D.C. E&E News is a news organisation focused on energy and the environment. Over the past decade, Gayathri has travelled across North America, Africa and Asia on long-form reporting projects. She has a master’s in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor's in biochemistry from McMaster University in Ontario. At The Ken, Gayathri will write on healthcare, the pharmaceutical business and the environment. Based in Bengaluru, you can reach her at gayathri at the rate the-ken.com

View Full Profile