- New research reports that serious muscular disorders are rare for people who take statins to help lower cholesterol levels.
- Researchers say their findings are important because many people avoid taking statins out of fear of side effects like muscle aches.
- Experts say statins are an effective tool in lowering the risks of heart disease and stroke.
The risk of serious muscle issues for people who take statins is extremely low, according to a large study.
Researchers said less than 1% of people who took the commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication in a study had a 10-year risk of statin-related serious muscular disorders higher than 10%.
Studies dispelling concerns over statin use are noteworthy considering that statins can help lower cholesterol levels by as much as
Despite this, past research shows that less than half of the 50 million people in the United States who might benefit from statins actually take them. In addition, it’s estimated that as many as one-third of people prescribed statins never fill that prescription.
The authors of the new study say that “widespread and often misattributed concerns” about statin side effects have led to “low statin uptake and poor adherence in individuals eligible for treatment, consequently leading to increased [cardiovascular disease] and related deaths.”
“Clinical treatment decision making can be better informed by personalized risk information about treatment outcomes, including both benefits and harms,” the authors wrote.
Yu-Ming Ni, MD, a cardiologist and lipidologist at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, said the new research delivers an important message.
“When you look broadly across all people currently on statins, the rate of side effects is very low,” he told Healthline. “When you consider the value that taking a statin daily provides to prevent heart disease, it is rare that the risk from the medication side effects outweighs the benefit of taking it.”
To reach their findings, researchers in the new report looked at the electronic health record data of more than 1.7 million participants in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink.
The data included males ages 50 or older and females ages 60 or older. The participants were from England and were registered with the database between 1998 and 2018.
The researchers used a model that was developed to predict the 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year risks of serious muscle disorders associated with hospitalization or death, adjusting for competing mortality risk.
The researchers reported that they discovered that about 0.04% of the people studied had a 10-year risk of statin-related serious muscle disorders above 10%.
The researchers said they hope their findings will convince patients and medical personnel that the benefits from statin use far outweigh the risks.
“Serious muscle disorders have… been perceived by patients and physicians as a major concern for statin use, despite the incidence in the population being very low,” the study authors wrote.
“This study aimed to derive and validate a prediction model for the personalized risk of serious muscle disorders in individuals eligible for statin treatment, to better inform clinical decision making on statin treatment and improve the use of statins in [cardiovascular disease] prevention,” they added.
Cheng-Han Chen, MD, an interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in California, said the new research reaffirms the benefits of statins.
“These results confirm our understanding that statins are a very safe and effective medication for treatment of heart disease,” he told Healthline.
“The incidence of muscle side effects with statin therapy is extremely low. The benefits of lowering LDL-cholesterol are clear,” he told Healthline.
“This study will help inform patients and clear up misinformation on the web,” said Blumenthal, who is also director of the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease and a professor of cardiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
Rita Redberg, MD, a cardiologist and a professor at the University of California San Francisco’s Department of Medicine, said that this latest research only examined muscle disorders that can lead to hospitalization or death.
She noted that the milder side effects from statins should not be taken lightly.
“These many adverse effects, which do not necessarily result in hospitalization or death but negatively impact quality of life, include joint pains, abdominal pains, brain fog, impaired glucose tolerance, and muscle pains and weakness,” Redberg told Healthline.
“These side effects often limit patients’ ability to walk, exercise, and enjoy activities of daily life,” she added.
Redberg said she discontinues the use of statins for many of her patients and instead tells them to focus on a balanced diet and regular exercise, as well as enjoying life and social connections, as ways to lower cholesterol and improve heart health.
“It is much more important to concentrate efforts on a healthy lifestyle,” she said.
Statins work by blocking your body’s production of an enzyme that the liver uses to produce cholesterol. This causes the liver to produce less cholesterol, which makes it easier for the body to remove cholesterol that’s already in the blood.
Statins also have anti-inflammatory properties that affect blood vessels, the heart, and the brain. This can help lower the risk of blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke.
Statins are available under a variety of generic brand names. They include:
People who are prescribed statins are advised to avoid grapefruit since that food can interact with certain statins, increasing the concentration of statins in the blood and intensifying side effects.
- muscle pain
- constipation
- diarrhea
- nausea
- headache
Chen reiterated that statins are an effective tool for preventing cardiovascular disease.
“Statins have tremendous benefits for the management of heart disease through lowering ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, stabilizing the plaque in blood vessels, and lowering blood vessel inflammation,” he said.
“Patients who do not take their statins as prescribed might be putting themselves at increased risk for getting a heart attack or stroke,” Chen added.
Blumenthal said that there are simple steps a person can take if they find statin side effects are intolerable.
“A patient can always stop their statin for a week if they perceive a possible side effect and then restart it every other day and then inform their clinician,” he said. “If a person does not tolerate a statin, there are many other options that a clinician can consider.”
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