It followed patients for up to six years. The research compared patients who took the drugs with those who unknowingly took a placebo.
It concluded: “Statin treatment results in a surprisingly small average gain in overall survival within the trials’ running time.”
Statins increased life expectancy by just three days for those people who did not already have a diagnosis of existing heart disease or associated symptoms.
Patients who had already suffered a heart attack, stroke or associated symptoms increased their longevity by four days by taking statins.
