Millions of Americans going for an annual checkup in 2014 will come away from the doctor's office with a new prescription to lower their cholesterol, a move cardiologists say will avert heart attacks and strokes. New guidelines released by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology will expand the use of statin drugs to almost 1 in 3 Americans from 16 percent currently. Everyone older than 40 with diabetes and those diagnosed with heart disease should be on a statin, regardless of their cholesterol count, the recommendations say.
