In 1994, the landmark Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (“4S”) demonstrated for the first time that a new class of drug could reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with ischaemic heart disease, leading to a major change in the way the condition is managed.1 The past 18 years have seen the introduction of other statins, a plethora of national and international guidance on their use and a significant increase in the numbers of patients taking such drugs. And for much of this time the choice of statin has been keenly debated by clinicians and commissioners of health …