Remember that statin medications can reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke, and the risk of life-threatening side effects from statins is very low.
Context: Heart failure (HF) is rapidly increasing in incidence and is often present in patients receiving long-term statin therapy.
inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), which can cause flu-like symptoms. inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which can cause stomach pain. skin problems, such as acne or an itchy red rash. sexual problems, such as loss of libido (reduced sex drive) or erectile dysfunction.
Severe muscle damage
Severe muscle damage, called rhabdomyolysis, is extremely rare with statins. This serious condition can cause kidney damage, heart rhythm problems, and seizures. In severe cases, it can cause permanent disability or even death.
Statins lower cardiovascular event risk, yet, they paradoxically increase coronary artery calcification, a marker consistently associated with increased cardiovascular risks.
Statins don't just lower cholesterol levels but also reduce the risk of fatty plaques breaking off from walls of your arteries, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
A: Yes. There have been several clinical studies — many of them done here at Cleveland Clinic — that show statins can reverse plaque buildup. Two statins in particular, atorvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Lipitor, and rosuvastatin, which is sold under the brand name Crestor, are the strongest statins.
Fear of side effects and perceived side effects are the most common reasons for declining or discontinuing statin therapy. Willingness to take a statin is high, among both patients who have declined statin therapy and those who have never been offered one.
How long do I need take a statin for? Probably for the rest of your life, because they only work for as long as you continue taking them.
Joseph A. Hill, M.D., Ph. D. The controversy in the United Kingdom started in 2013 when the British Medical Journal (BMJ) claimed statins were being overprescribed to people with low risk of heart disease, and that the drugs' side effects were worse than previously thought.
As with all drugs, statins may have adverse effects; these include musculoskeletal symptoms, increased risk of diabetes, and higher rates of hemorrhagic stroke.
In total, a pooled analysis of 36 studies found that statins were associated with a decreased risk of dementia (OR 0.80 (CI 0.75-0.86). For Alzheimer's disease, the association with statins based on 21 studies, was also reduced (OR 0.68 (CI 0.56-0.81).
Statins are a group of drugs that can lower blood cholesterol levels. They do this by blocking an enzyme in the liver that is necessary for making cholesterol.
The study also showed that the people who first refused statin therapy developed higher LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels. It also took them three times longer to reduce their LDL cholesterol levels to less than 100 than people who initially said yes.
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.
Statins work to lower cholesterol levels and can reduce the risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and even cardiovascular disease deaths by 25% or more. It's important to note that if you stop taking them, these improved effects on your cholesterol will taper off after several months.
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 who take them and may rarely cause liver damage.
To reduce your cholesterol, try to cut down on fatty food, especially food that contains a type of fat called saturated fat. You can still have foods that contain a healthier type of fat called unsaturated fat. Check labels on food to see what type of fat it has in it.
MONDAY, March 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Not everyone can tolerate statins to reduce their high cholesterol, but now a new study finds the medication bempedoic acid (Nexletol) reduced the combined rate of bad cardiovascular events by 13%. “We're very pleased with the results,” said study chair Dr.
So, why do people take statins at night? 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.
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.
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.
"Statins are the most effective heart attack and stroke prevention drugs that we have really ever seen," says Michael Honigberg, a cardiologist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital who is not affiliated with the new study.