Statins reduce heart attack and stroke risk in older people

Statins are commonly prescribed to manage high cholesterol in people up to 75 years, and are known to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke, but it has previously been unclear whether they were effective in older people due to underrepresentation in major statin trials. Now, a clinical trial led by Monash University researchers has found the medication decreases the risk of major cardiovascular events in older people without known cardiovascular disease.

The Statins in Reducing Events in the Elderly (STAREE) trial is one of the largest cardiovascular disease prevention trials ever conducted in older people. It is also the first large randomised controlled trial to examine whether statins can be used for primary prevention in older patients — whose risk of heart attack and stroke only increases with age — to help them live longer in good health, according to lead researcher Professor Sophia Zoungas from the Monash School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

The double-blind trial was conducted among people aged 70 years and over with no history of clinical cardiovascular disease, diabetes or dementia, recruited from Australian general practice. In total, 9971 participants were randomised to receive either oral atorvastatin (40 mg daily) or a placebo.

Over a median follow-up of 5.9 years, the researchers demonstrated that the risk of major cardiovascular events — defined as cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke or coronary revascularisation — was reduced by 30% in the atorvastatin group compared with the placebo group. The results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented concurrently at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2026, held in August.

“This was a particularly important trial because it was conducted in the community, with more than 3400 GPs taking part across Australia,” said study co-author Professor Mark Nelson — a prominent general practitioner, Adjunct Professor at the Monash School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and Research Fellow at Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania.

“In light of this new evidence, older patients should have a conversation with their GP about whether statins are an appropriate treatment for their cardiovascular health to help them remain fit and healthy.”

“With the world’s population aging at an unprecedented rate, answering fundamental questions about healthy longevity has become a universal imperative,” Zoungas added. “The risk of heart attack and stroke is a concern for older people and knowing there is an effective measure for lowering that risk will be a huge reassurance to older people and their families.

“We hope to see updated guidelines to help clinicians make use of these new findings.”

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