Statins can rarely cause muscle inflammation (swelling) and damage. Speak to your doctor if you have muscle pain, tenderness or weakness that cannot be explained – for example, pain that is not caused by physical work.
Statins block an enzyme the liver needs to make cholesterol. This causes the liver to remove cholesterol from the blood. 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.
Statins should be taken with caution if you're at an increased risk of developing a rare side effect called myopathy, which is where the tissues of your muscles become damaged and painful. Severe myopathy (rhabdomyolysis) can lead to kidney damage. Things that can increase this risk include: being over 70 years old.
Grapefruit juice can affect some statins and increase your risk of side effects. Your doctor may advise you to avoid it or to only consume it in small quantities. There are no known interactions between statins and alcohol.
It's important to know that stopping statins cold turkey, or even gradually, can cause serious health problems and you should talk to your doctor before doing so. To understand more about your heart health, take a health risk assessment at Baptist Health.
Check with your doctor whether there's a particular time of day you should take your statin. 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.
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.
Statin use has been linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes because the medication can fuel mild glucose elevations in predisposed individuals — an effect that can often be countervailed by exercise and losing as little as a few pounds.
Vitamin D supplement may have moderate or no effect on the dosage requirement or side effects of pravastatin, rosuvastatin and pitavastatin. Since vitamin D has mild HMG-CoA reductase activity, it will work synergistically with all statins.
Statins are effective, accessible, and affordable. However, well-known side effects like muscle pain keep some people from taking them.
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.
Within a month of starting statin therapy, they may feel aches or weakness in the large muscles of their arms, shoulders, thighs or buttocks on both sides of the body. About 5 to 10% of people who try statins are affected. It's more common in the elderly, in women and in those taking the more potent statins.
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.
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.
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.
Bempedoic Acid: A Statin Alternative to Reduce Cholesterol
All of the patients had a history of or were at high risk for getting heart disease.
Along with a healthy diet and exercise, statin alternatives like ezetimibe (Zetia) can be taken with or without statins to help you meet your cholesterol goals. Natural and over-the-counter medications, like fish oil supplements, may also help manage your cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol is often high due to excessive saturated and trans fat consumption. There are certain drinks that can help maintain an ideal cholesterol level. Some of the best drinks for cholesterol management include green tea, pomegranate juice, citrus juice, soy milk, plant-based smoothies, and red wine.
Before you refuse to take a statin or stop taking a statin, consult your doctor. He or she can explain why you may benefit from the drug or help you find a different statin if you experience side effects. We are constantly evaluating current methods for preventing and treating medical conditions.
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.
The cholesterol-lowering action of alternate-day statins is as effective as daily dosing in many individuals. Alternate-day statin administration seems to decrease the incidence of its adverse effects, particularly myopathy.
These results suggest that once-a-week rosuvastatin can significantly improve the lipid profile. We previously de- scribed 8 patients intolerant to once-a-day statin dosing who were able to tolerate once-a-week rosuvastatin (10 mg/week), with a resultant 29% reduction in LDL-C.