Making cholesterol-lowering drugs available over the counter is the most effective way of preventing heart attacks, a biochemist has claimed. Professor James Shepherd, from Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said the use of drugs known as statins will change the face of preventive cardiology. He also said it was the only way to go for GPs restrained by tight budgets. But he has urged pharmacists to carry out checks into factors such as smoking, obesity and blood pressure. The UK will be the first country in the world to make simvastatin, the most widely-used cholesterol-lowering drug, available without prescription.
