You usually have to continue taking statins for life because if you stop taking them, your cholesterol will return to a high level. If you forget to take your dose, do not take an extra one to make up for it. Just take your next dose as usual the following day.
If you've made lifestyle changes through diet and exercise that have lowered your cholesterol levels, you may not need to continue taking a statin. These changes can help reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, or blocked arteries while allowing you to take one less medication.
If you're taking a statin medication to lower your cholesterol, you will need to keep taking your prescription, or your cholesterol will likely go back up. Stopping your statin can put you at risk of having heart disease and other preventable health problems like stroke and heart attack from high cholesterol.
The tablets should normally be taken at the same time each day – most people take them just before going to bed. In most cases, treatment with statins continues for life, as stopping the medication causes your cholesterol to return to a high level within a few weeks.
You usually have to continue taking statins for life because if you stop taking them, your cholesterol will return to a high level. If you forget to take your dose, do not take an extra one to make up for it. Just take your next dose as usual the following day.
Carimi says it's best to stick with the medication. He says the risk is too high, even if you're now living a better, healthier lifestyle. However, if you haven't had a stroke or heart attack and you are taking statins due to high cholesterol numbers, ending statin use might be an option.
Statins can stabilize cholesterol plaque already attached to artery walls, making it less likely to get worse or rupture, causing a heart attack or stroke. "Statins also help remove cholesterol from you blood by causing the liver to express more LDL cholesterol receptors that take cholesterol out of your blood," Dr.
Providers prescribe statins for people who: Have high cholesterol (LDL above 190 mg/dL) that exercise and diet changes couldn't reduce. Had a stroke, heart attack or peripheral artery disease. Have diabetes and an LDL of at least 70 mg/dL and are 40 to 75 years old.
Summary: As many as one in two patients stop taking statins, reduce the dose or take them irregularly because they believe the cholesterol-lowering drugs cause muscle pain and other side-effects.
Statins also carry warnings that memory loss, mental confusion, neuropathy, high blood sugar, and type 2 diabetes are possible side effects. It's important to remember that statins may also interact with other medications you take.
Although there are some potential side effects long-term for statins, in most cases, if your doctor has identified you as having high cholesterol and needing a statin, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. Muscle aches are among the most common complaints.
While statins are highly effective and safe for most people, they have been linked to muscle pain, digestive problems and mental fuzziness in some people. Rarely, they may cause liver damage.
Grapefruit juice is the only food or drink that has a direct interaction with statins. Statins do not directly interact with any food but people taking statins should moderate their intake of saturated fats to help lower their LDL cholesterol and overall risk of cardiovascular disease.
If you quit cold turkey, your body can go into shock. It is not recommended that you stop statins suddenly if you have a history of heart attack or stroke, as it can put you at a higher risk of recurrent heart attack. You should speak with your doctor before stopping the medicine under any circumstance.
High cholesterol levels are considered: too high: between 5 and 6.4mmol/l. very high: between 6.5 and 7.8mmol/l. extremely high: above 7.8mmol/l.
If your risk is very low, you probably won't need a statin, unless your LDL is above 190 mg/dL (4.92 mmol/L). If your risk is very high — for example, you've had a heart attack in the past — a statin may be helpful even if you don't have high cholesterol.
Total cholesterol levels should be lower than 5.5 mmol/L, if you have no other risk factors. If you have cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, pre-existing cardiovascular (heart) disease or diabetes, or you smoke, the aim for LDL cholesterol levels would be less than 2 mmol/L.
Statin use is associated with increased calorie intake and consequent weight gain. It is speculated that statin‐dependent improvements in lipid profile may undermine the perceived need to follow lipid‐lowering and other dietary recommendations leading consequently to increased calorie intake.
Many statins work more effectively when they are taken at night. This is because the enzyme which makes the cholesterol is more active at night. Also, the half-life, or the amount of time it takes for half the dose to leave your body, of some statins is short.
Statins should not be taken if you have liver disease or if blood tests suggest that your liver may not be working properly. This is because statins can affect your liver, and this is more likely to cause serious problems if you already have a damaged liver.
Elevated cholesterol levels are not uncommon in the elderly (61% of women aged between 65 and 74 have total cholesterol levels over 6.2 mmol/L [240 mg/dL]).
Statins are used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other life-threatening events associated with heart disease. Because strong evidence from clinical studies show the benefits of statins for adults up to age 75, doctors often prescribe them.
—Italian researchers have shown that discontinuing statins in elderly patients on multiple medications increases risk of cardiovascular outcomes, hospitalization, and death. Do not discontinue statins in older patients as a way to address concerns over polypharmacy.