A statin a day

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

21/08/18

Gayathri Vaidyanathan

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

pill-sketch-lead-4-1920x1080.jpg

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…

To access this post, you must purchase Monthly Recurring, Quarterly or Weekly Product.

Read the full story. Create a free account.

Or subscribe. Why? Let us explain.

Create Account

Already Registered?

Related stories

More stories in /Healthcare & /Reportage

See all in Healthcare & Reportage

This story is for subscribers only.
Subscribe for free

Read the full story. Create a free account.

Or subscribe. Why? Let us explain.

Or

By registering, you will be signed-up for an account which gives you access to a free story published once a week and archives of all our free stories. You will also receive a daily newsletter sent to your inbox. To unsubscribe, please visit the profile section in your account.

What you get

Access all free stories

100+ archived free stories, and all upcoming ones too.

Paid story summaries

Read an exclusive 200 word summary for all our paid stories.

Daily Newsletters

Our world-renowned emails, in your inbox, every day.

Or get full access to all our stories

About subscriptions

Already Registered? Login

Questions?

What is The Ken?

The Ken is a subscription-driven media site. We write one story a day (weekdays only). These stories have sharp, original insights on technology, business, science and healthcare from India.

Why do I have to sign up to read your stories?

Our stories are not free. Well, some select stories are. But, a significant part of what we write at The Ken is for subscribers only. We put in a lot of effort and resources in writing our stories and believe that you must pay for good journalism.
Hence, our three plans. 1) The annual membership
2) The free sign up
3) The recurring quarterly subscription

On journalism and why you should pay for it, if you haven’t already seen it, here’s a great explainer from John Oliver.

So, one must pay for journalism?

Yes.

How many stories will I get if I take an annual membership?

200+ stories.

And, in the free sign up?

Four stories every month.

Do I get a refund?

We allow you to sample our journalism for free before signing up, and after you do, we stand by its quality. But we do not offer refunds.

I am not getting my daily emails. Do I have to whitelist emails from The Ken?

An added benefit of your subscription (free/paid) are the daily personalised emails. These emails, at times, might end up in your spam/junk folder due to emojis, attachments or images. In case you’re not receiving these emails, it might help to whitelist us. If the problem still persists, write to us at [email protected].

Why am I unable to access the archives?

Full and unrestricted access to our archives is a feature of our annual membership.

My payment is not going through, what can I do?

Please write to us at [email protected] detailing the payment error or queries.

See all FAQs

    See all results for Ken

    No results found for Ken.