What Are the Side Effects of Statins?

Statins are widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs that may reduce the chance of major heart-related health problems.

Though statins generally have an excellent safety profile, they may cause unwanted effects in some people. Still, healthcare providers consider that the advantages of statins outweigh the risks related to unwanted effects. There are options for managing unwanted effects in the event that they develop into bothersome.

This article will review the unwanted effects of statin drugs and learn how to manage them.

What Are Statins?

Statin medications are used with weight loss program and exercise to treat hypercholesteremia (high blood levels of cholesterol).

Statins belong to the prescription drug class called hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase enzyme inhibitors. They work to scale back the production of cholesterol within the liver.

Statins lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also referred to as bad cholesterol, and triglyceride levels within the blood. They also increase the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also referred to as good cholesterol.

Statins are also widely used and have proved effective in stopping atherosclerotic vascular diseases, primarily by reducing plasma LDL concentrations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and marketed single-ingredient products statins include:

• Lipitor (atorvastatin)
• Lescol XL (fluvastatin prolonged release)
• Altoprev (lovastatin prolonged release)
• Livalo (pitavastatin)
• Crestor (rosuvastatin)
• Zocor (simvastatin)

Other combination products include:

• Advicor (lovastatin/niacin prolonged release)
• Simcor (simvastatin/niacin prolonged release)
• Vytorin (simvastatin/ezetimibe)

Side Effects of Statins

Statins have an excellent safety and efficacy profile for improving levels of cholesterol. However, they may cause some unwanted effects.

The advantages of taking statins generally outweigh the unwanted effects, but they’ll still be bothersome for some people. In most cases, they’re reversible but sometimes require stopping therapy for some time.

Some more common mild unwanted effects of statins include:

• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Gas
• Headache
• Muscle/joint aches
• Nausea
• Upset stomach

Other potential reversible unwanted effects include:

• Memory loss and confusion
• Increased blood sugar
• Increased hemoglobin A1C enzyme levels

In some people, statins may cause a number of severe unwanted effects. However, these are generally unusual. Some other rare severe unwanted effects of statin include:

• Liver damage
• Kidney damage
• Muscle disorders
• Hemorrhagic strokes

The risks of those are rare and related to higher drug doses. Healthcare providers consider that statins’ advantages outweigh the risks of those unwanted effects.

Muscle Pain and Soreness

Some people report mild muscle pain and soreness while taking statins. However, some studies suggest that the majority reports of muscle pain may not actually be on account of the statin itself.

If the unwanted effects develop into especially bothersome, your healthcare provider might reduce the dose.

Rarely, severe cases may involve a sort of muscle disorder called rhabdomyolysiswhich may cause the next symptoms:

• Severe muscle cramps, aches, or pains
• Dark-colored urine
• Extreme weakness or fatigue

Risk Factors for Side Effects

Statins are relatively secure for most individuals. However, they are usually not really helpful in certain cases. Some persons are at an increased risk of unwanted effects. This includes when you:

• Take other medicines to lower levels of cholesterol or drugs that interact with statins
• Are pregnant
• Are 80 years or older
• Have kidney or liver disease
• Consume alcohol in excess
• Have hypothyroidism
• Have a neuromuscular disorder, resembling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Drug and Food Interaction

Statins may interact with certain drugs and cause an increased risk of muscle injury:

• Cholesterol-lowering drugs referred to as fibrates
• Higher doses of niacin
• Ranexa (ranolazine), used to treat angina
• Colchicine, a medicine for treating gout

The FDA has updated the Lovastatin label for interactions with other drugs and their dose limitations to scale back the chance of muscle injury.

Follow a healthy weight loss program while taking statins. This includes eating less fat within the weight loss program.

Avoid drinking large amounts of grapefruit juice while taking statins. Excessive grapefruit juice consumption can raise the quantity of the drug within the blood and increase the chance of muscle disorders. However, an 8-ounce (240-milliliter) glass of juice or one grapefruit could be safely consumed.

How to Manage Side Effects

In many cases, the advantages of statin therapy outweigh the chance of hostile effects. However, in some people, the unwanted effects could also be severe enough to drive healthcare providers to allow the discontinuation of statin drugs.

To relieve unwanted effects which can be believed to be brought on by statins, discuss these steps along with your healthcare provider:

• Stopping statin therapy to scale back the unwanted effects
• Switching to a different cholesterol-lowering drug
• Reducing the dose
• Making lifestyle changes to scale back levels of cholesterol, resembling eating a low-fat weight loss program, doing regular exercise, and quitting smoking

Some also consider that taking coenzyme Q10 (coQ10) supplements may help fight muscle disease. However, the information on this has been mixed, and lots of studies don’t indicate much profit from taking CoQ10 supplements for this purpose.

Statins can lower the chance of a heart attack or stroke, and the chance of life-threatening unwanted effects from statins is very low.

Summary

Statins are a widely used group of medication which can be generally well tolerated. Like another sort of drug, they might cause a number of unwanted effects in some people.

The unwanted effects of statins, resembling muscle pain, memory loss, or a slight increase in the chance of new-onset diabetes and the possibly increased risk of stroke, are negligible when put next with the advantages that the medication provides.

Tell your healthcare provider about another drugs you’re taking before taking statins.