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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins that can help prevent heart disease are still underprescribed for many at-risk patients, according to a new study.
Research by the Stanford School of Medicine concludes that doctors should aggressively examine patients with a moderate to high risk of heart disease to see if such drugs are appropriate. The study was released Monday in the online journal Public Library of Science Medicine.
"Only 50 percent of high-risk patients who visit doctors receive statins," said study author Dr. Jun Ma, a research associate at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. "People may die prematurely because of inadequate treatment. And people who should receive these drugs but don't are put at greater risk of heart disease."
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