The Heart Foundation has urged Australians with high cholesterol to take their statins after an international study found an alarming number of Americans are refusing the treatment.
The US-based study - published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association - found one in five US citizens were refusing the life-saving treatment despite being at high risk of heart disease.
It also found women were more likely than men to refuse prescribed statins. They were also less likely than men to achieve good cholesterol control within a year of diagnosis.
Statins lower the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood, preventing it from building up and blocking the coronary arteries.
The study was the first of its type and more research needs to be done to determine the cause of people's reluctance.
Heart Foundation healthcare programs manager Natalie Raffoul said results supported existing evidence that patient adherence to statin therapy was "poor".
"This new study suggests that even before the point of being prescribed a medication, acceptance of statin therapy is poor too," Ms Raffoul said.
"We have more work to do to understand what is causing this reluctance so that we can improve the uptake of statins among those who are prescribed them."
Ms Raffoul described statins as a "gold standard, first line" treatment for high cholesterol, which currently impacts 6.5 million Australians and 3.6 million women.
"Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death among Australian women," she said.
"It's crucial that you consider taking these medicines, which are commonly regarded as having been critical to the reduction in cardiovascular death in Australia over the last 50 years."
To read the full study click HERE.
