The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends low- to moderate-dose statins in adults ages 40 to 75 who have one or more risk factors for heart and blood vessel disease and at least a 1 in 10 chance of having a cardiosvascular disease event in the next 10 years.

At what cholesterol level is medication required?

Medication is typically recommended when: your cholesterol levels are high enough to increase your risk for cardiovascular disease (or you already had a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke) you have an LDL level greater than 190 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL)

At what point should you start taking statins?

The new guidelines, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that people ages 40 to 75 who have one or more risk factors — such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes or smoking that put them at a 10 percent or greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 ...