CHICAGO (AP) – The first major research of its kind shows that cholesterol-lowering statins can prevent heart attacks and strokes in a globally diverse group of older people who don’t have heart disease.

The results from 21 countries bolster recommendations on who should consider taking the drugs.

The aim was to prevent heart disease using a statin alone, blood pressure drugs or a combination of the two. The patients in the study did not have heart disease and faced lower risks of developing it, and the statin approach worked best.

The research was published online Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago.