What statin therapy recommendation is appropriate for a man with an ASCVD score of 6.8%?

In the context of managing cardiovascular risk, the 10-year Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk score is a crucial tool for determining the need for statin therapy. An ASCVD score of 6.8% suggests a relatively low risk for the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events over the next decade.

Statins are generally recommended for individuals with an ASCVD risk of 20% or more, as well as for those with established cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or certain risk factors. In this case, since the patient has an ASCVD score below 20%, the current guidelines do not recommend initiating statin therapy, making the recommendation to withhold statin treatment appropriate.

In contrast, the other choices for statin therapy initiation do not align with the risk profile indicated by the ASCVD score. Initiating treatment with atorvastatin or rosuvastatin would not be warranted given the patient's lower risk, and while pravastatin could theoretically be beneficial for other risk factors, it would still be unnecessary in this scenario. Therefore, the understanding of ASCVD scoring helps clarify why starting statin therapy is not indicated for this individual.