- New 2026 guidelines could make about 21.5 million more U.S. adults eligible for statins, bringing the total to roughly 87.5 million — more than half of adults ages 30–79.
- The expansion comes from widening risk assessment to ages 30–79, lowering 10‑year risk thresholds (borderline 3%, intermediate 5%, high 10%), and factoring in 30‑year risk and conditions like advanced kidney disease or HIV.
- Eligibility means “consider” treatment, not automatic prescriptions — talk with your clinician, get a lipid panel (and maybe a calcium scan), and weigh meds alongside lifestyle changes.
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