Millions more Americans now eligible for statins. What new cholesterol guidelines mean - KSL.com

What the report says

KSL.com reported that a new analysis estimates 21.5 million more U.S. adults could be considered eligible for statin therapy under updated blood cholesterol guidelines. The study, published July 20 in JAMA, compared the 2026 guidance from the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and nine partner medical societies with the prior 2018 recommendations.

According to KSL.com, researchers applied both sets of guidelines to data from more than 4,300 participants in a national health survey collected from 2017 to 2023, representing about 154 million adults ages 30 to 79 without known cardiovascular disease. The analysis found that total statin eligibility for primary prevention could rise to roughly 87.5 million people, or nearly 57% of the studied adult population.

Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and clinical associate professor at George Washington University, told KSL.com that the expansion reflects several changes: a wider risk-assessment age range, lower thresholds for estimated cardiovascular risk, more attention to conditions such as advanced chronic kidney disease and HIV, and greater emphasis on 30-year risk for some younger adults. The goal is to identify people who may benefit from lowering LDL cholesterol before their short-term risk becomes high.

KSL.com emphasized that eligibility does not mean every newly eligible person should start medication immediately. Wen said decisions should be individualized, taking into account cholesterol results, age, smoking, family history, diabetes, blood pressure, kidney disease, HIV and willingness to take a daily drug. She also noted that lifestyle measures remain important, while statins’ benefits and possible side effects should be reviewed with a clinician.