The article explains why the new guidelines push earlier and more aggressive statin use, but it ignores a major downside I now live with: statins are consistently associated with increased vascular calcification, not just in the coronaries but in peripheral and other arterial beds. That may reduce soft‑plaque rupture, but it also leaves patients with stiffer, more heavily calcified arteries that are much harder to manage later on – for blood pressure control, limb ischaemia, surgical and endovascular procedures, and overall vascular function.

If we are going to recommend decades‑long statin exposure starting at younger ages, the long‑term burden of systemic arterial calcification needs to be part of both the risk–benefit discussion and the informed consent process, not quietly left out of the story - a gap that may well be tested in the courts before long.”