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Like all medicines, statins can interact with other drugs. Speak to your GP or pharmacist if you’re not sure.
Statins: Common questions answered - Heart Matters magazine - BHF Statins: Common questions answered - Heart Matters magazine - BHF
The risks, as with all medicines, include possible side effects. Serious side effects are rare and can be reversed if you stop taking the statin. One risk is muscle pain, ranging from mild pain to a severe muscular problem called rhabdomyolysis.Consequently, "meditation, yoga or something that reduces your stress levels will have a big impact." He cites an Indian study that found forty minutes of daily mediation had the strongest impact on heart disease reversal – "more than diet, more than exercise." Eat a healthy diet and avoid foods high in saturated fats. Plant sterols and stanols– which are added to certain drinks and foods – can help to reduce your cholesterol by up to 10 per cent. Heart disease is the primary cause of death – and the most common cause of premature death – in the western world. To reduce their risk, over six million people in the UK take statins, which lower ‘bad cholesterol’ (LDL-C). This is the accepted science. He says statins are vastly over-prescribed. He believes debilitating side effects are common, mainly muscle pain and fatigue. (This remains another highly contested issue. An Imperial College London study in 2020 showed that side effects are rare and even caused by a ‘nocebo’ effect – symptoms brought on by the belief a pill will cause you harm.) Your doctor will look at your cholesterol level and other risk factors for heart and circulatory diseases to find out if you need a statin. You may be given a statin if you:
A Statin-Free Life by Dr. Aseem Malhotra | Goodreads
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Muscular aches and pains are the most common. It’s natural to associate symptoms with a new tablet but we all get muscle aches from time to time, so it’s difficult to know if they are due to medication or just to do with everyday life. Most people experience no side effects from statins. For some, though, they are an issue. If this is the case, ask your doctor about trying a different statin. Lifestyle choices, such as whether you eat fatty foods, smoke, drink alcohol and don’t exercise enough increase your chances of having high cholesterol. Even if you’re in good health, you may be prescribed a statin if you’re at high risk of developing cardiovasculardisease. Your cholesterol levels should drop within 4 weeks, if you take your medicine regularly, as prescribed.
A Statin-Free Life by Dr Aseem Malhotra | Waterstones A Statin-Free Life by Dr Aseem Malhotra | Waterstones
If you start taking statins, you’ll need to keep taking them in the long term – as your cholesterol levels will rise again if you stop taking them. It is recommended that you have these tests again a year later to keep any eye on your cholesterol and liver. The main differences are in how much they lower cholesterol. They can be split into two groups – low-intensity statins (for example, pravastatin and simvastatin) and high-intensity statins (such as atorvastatin and rosuvastatin). For most people, a lower-intensity statin will be enough to reduce their cholesterol sufficiently, but if it’s not, your doctor may want to increase the dose or switch to a higher-intensity one. What side effects are there?Exercise is important. "Exercise itself reduces insulin resistance. It keeps your cells more sensitive to insulin and therefore means there’s less insulin required to maintain your blood glucose in normal range, and therefore less damage to the cells of the inner lining of the heart arteries." Statins are medications used to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood and protect the insides of the artery walls. They’re one of the most prescribed drugs in the UK, with an estimated 7-8 million adults taking them. These are very powerful drugs and in the early days of statins, understandably, some people were concerned about potential undiscovered risks associated with them. They’re now one of the most investigated drugs, and we have lots of reliable data – some of which originated from work that’s been funded by the BHF – that show they are very safe and effective to take. How will taking a statin help me?
NHS Common questions about atorvastatin - NHS
Should I take a statin?’ is a common question in my surgery, particularly when newspaper stories advocate benefits or report dire side effects. However, drinking a lot of alcohol regularly increases the chance of you having side effects and liver problems.
Your doctor will find the right statin and dose for you, depending on your medical history, cholesterol level and the other medicines you take.
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