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Statin side effects: Weigh the benefits and risks. Statins are effective at lowering cholesterol and protecting against a heart attack and stroke, although they may lead to side effects for some people. By Mayo Clinic Staff
Find out whether your risk factors for heart disease make you a good candidate for statin therapy. Statins are drugs that can lower your cholesterol. They work by blocking a substance that your body needs to make cholesterol. Lowering cholesterol isn't the only benefit of taking a statin.
In studies where participants don't know if they're getting a statin or a placebo, muscle pain is a common complaint in both groups. It appears that the expectation of the side effect makes it more likely to occur. Most cholesterol medications lower cholesterol with few side effects, but effectiveness varies from person to person.
Millions of Americans take statins to lower their cholesterol, but many more who could benefit from them don't out of concern over potential side effects. But Dr. Stephen Kopecky (Koh-PET-ski), a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, says a lot of those concerns are based on myths.
I see @gloaming has given you a good link at Mayo to research this. I would really talk to your doctors about this. It could be something totally different causing it and you need to address is. I have been on Astorstatin for over 10 years. I do not have the symptoms you have. I was put on Co-Q-10 immedately when I was prescribed a statin drug.
Depending on which statin is prescribed and at what dose, you can expect your LDL cholesterol to decrease within 1 to 3 months of starting statin therapy. Some statins are more potent (rosuvastatin, atorvastatin) than others (simvastatin, pravastatin).
Serious adverse effects with statin therapy are uncommon and primarily involve effects on the liver and skeletal muscle. The risk increases with the statin dose and coadministration with other drugs metabolized by the same metabolic pathway, such as the cytochrome P-450 system.
Studies show that statins may reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and even death from heart disease by about 25%. There are several types of statins. Some older ones might reduce...
Recent studies show a surge in statin use for people over age 79, and Dr. Kopecky says even though there is not enough data to know exactly how statins affect that group of people, "For many of those patients, statins can lower the risk of heart attack by about a third.
Recent research shows that people 75 and older who go off statins have an increased risk of hospitalization because of cardiovascular problems. Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, says that many older people who take statins should stay on them. Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute