By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Heath) – People may do a better job of following doctors’ orders to take statin drugs – prescribed to protect against cardiac problems – after they wind up hospitalized for a heart attack, a large study suggests. “Our theory is that the heart attack hospitalization appeared to serve as a teachable moment, or a wake-up call, to patients to do everything possible to prevent another heart attack,” lead study author Dr. Ian Kronish of Columbia University Medical Center said by email. Millions of people worldwide take statins to help reduce their blood levels of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol – the bad kind that builds up in blood vessels, damages artery walls and can lead to clots and heart attacks.
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After a heart attack, people more likely to take statins as directed