Responding to an open letter to NICE Chairman Professor David Haslam from a group of doctors about NICE's draft guidance on statins, Professor Mark Baker, Director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE, said: "Cardiovascular disease maims and kills people through coronary heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and stroke. Together, these kill 1 in 3 of us. Our proposals are intended to prevent many lives being destroyed.

"We have consulted on these proposals and the results of this consultation are currently being reviewed prior to publication of our final recommendations next month. Our proposals are also being independently peer reviewed to ensure they are reliable and evidence-based.

"The draft guideline does not propose that statins should be used instead of the lifestyle adjustments that people at risk of cardiovascular disease need to make - such as stopping smoking, being more active, drinking less alcohol, eating more healthily and losing weight. It encourages GPs to fully explore with their patients the ways in which people can reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease, presenting all the options promoted by the draft guidance, including lifestyle changes, blood pressure control, avoidance of diabetes and cholesterol (lipid) lowering, and to allow patients to make their own decisions.

"The independent committee of experts found that if a patient and their doctor measure the risk and decide statins are the right choice, the evidence clearly shows there is no credible argument against their safety and clinical effectiveness for use in people with a 10% risk over ten years. Because the price of statins has fallen, it is also cost-effective to use them to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease at a lower threshold than NICE has previously recommended.

For more details, go to: http://www.nice.org.uk/newsroom/pressreleases/NICERespondsToCriticismsOfItsDraftGuidanceOnStatins.jsp