[Treatment of hypercholesterolemia with statins]

The etiology of arteriosclerosis is a complicated interaction of many factors, among which aberrations in the cholesterol metabolism appear to play an important role. Several studies have shown that lipid-lowering therapy with statins improves survival and reduces complications in patients with coronary artery disease. Until recently, the role of cholesterol-lowering in patients with elevated cholesterol, but without diagnosed coronary disease, was not clear. New studies suggest that men in this group may benefit from treatment with statins. This article focuses on some of the problems connected with the widespread use of statins, namely: proper selection of patients, the safety of long-term statin therapy, economics, and the need for additional therapy and for the continuation of population-based general measures.