Nearly all men over 60 have to consider taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs under new heart disease prevention guidelines, an analysis concludes.

It's the first independent look at the impact of the guidelines issued in November and shows how dramatically they shift more people toward treatment. Supporters say they reveal the true scope of heart risks in America. Critics have said the guidelines overreach by suggesting medications such as Zocor and Lipitor for such a broad swath of the population, reports News Max Health.

But since too few people use statins now, the advice "has the potential to do much more good than harm," said Dr. Daniel Rader of the University of Pennsylvania, a cardiologist who had no role in writing the guidelines.

Nearly half a million additional heart attacks and strokes could be prevented over 10 years if statin use was expanded as the guidelines recommend, the study estimates.

Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a Yale University cardiologist who has long advocated this approach, said:

 "The guidelines provide a recommendation, not a mandate" for statin use, he said.