Major trial challenges how doctors decide who really needs statins

A study of nearly 5,800 adults found that heart scans measuring calcium buildup in the arteries led to the same observed rate of major cardiovascular events as traditional risk assessments, despite recommending statins to far fewer patients. Surprisingly, patients advised to take statins based on their scans were nearly three times as likely to stick with their medication, raising intriguing questions about how doctors should identify and treat heart disease risk.