A great article about shared decision making regarding starting statin therapy for primary prevention:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/291527.php#rate
I tend to set aside a good 10 minutes to talk to a patient who may benefit from primary prevention with statin therapy. I usually plug their numbers in the following calculator (http://chd.bestsciencemedicine.com/calc2.html) and show them their current 10 year CVD risk and the effect of various interventions (such as medications, diet and exercise) on that percentage. I then guide them to the decision that is appropriate for them in terms of statin therapy. I feel that they are much more likely to want to keep taking their medications when they are fully informed.
Posted on 13/04/2015 by Dr. Dimitre