This means that these risks should be weighed carefully against expected benefits.Statins are linked to a number of minor side effects. One controversial idea was to test a statin -- AstraZeneca's Crestor -- in people with normal An independent review panel stopped the trial after two years when it became apparent that patients receiving a Even so, the risk wasn't extreme.
In 1989, BHF Professor Stuart Cobbe led a trial which revealed that people with high cholesterol could reduce their risk of having a first-time heart attack by nearly a third by taking statins. This was followed by a study carried out by BHF Professor Sir Rory Collins 1994, which showed that even people with ‘normal’ cholesterol could lower their risk of future heart attack or stroke by taking statins. WebMD's FAQ sorts through the confusion. Statins lower cholesterol for millions of people.


Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic. 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.Besides cholesterol, other risk factors for heart disease and stroke are:Your doctor may use an online tool or calculator to better understand your long-term risks of developing heart disease and whether a statin may be right for you. When thinking about whether you should take statins for high cholesterol, ask yourself these questions: Do I have other risk factors for heart and blood vessel disease?

If you make significant changes to your diet or lose a lot of weight, talk to your doctor about whether it might be possible to control your cholesterol without medication.Statins are tolerated well by most people, but they can have side effects. Statins also aren't recommended if you are pregnant or have some forms of advanced liver disease.When thinking about whether you should take statins for high cholesterol, ask yourself these questions:It's important to consider your medical reasons, personal values, lifestyle choices and any concerns when choosing a treatment. Overall, the benefit of statins in reducing heart disease risk is nine times greater than the drugs' danger of increasing diabetes risk.However, this finding suggests that older patients taking statins should have their blood sugar levels checked regularly.FDA, Crestor primary prevention approval letter, Feb. 8, 2010.WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All rights reserved.

Others suggest it's The consensus of opinion is that high CRP levels indicate high risk of heart disease.In the JUPITER study, participants' CRP levels were very high. Your doctor may want to decrease your dose or try a different statin. Taking a temporary break from a statin may determine if the statin is to blame for the muscle pain, but do not stop taking your statin without consulting your doctor first. But for some people who take them, they don’t work well enough. Statins prevent heart attacks in people with diabetes, so the relevance of the mild increase in sugar values with statins observed in some people is unclear. About 80 per cent of high-risk patients taking statins for cardiovascular disease still have high cholesterol and may need higher doses of the medication, a study finds.

These medications have also been linked to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. And not all statins are the same.

They include:Sometimes, a statin is combined with another heart medication. These tools can help your doctor predict your chances of having a heart attack in the next 10 to 30 years. It's important to … But if the drug helped lower your cholesterol, you'll likely need to stay on it long term to keep your cholesterol down. The increase generally occurs when blood sugar levels are already higher than normal and fall in the prediabetes or diabetes range when you begin taking a statin. There is no convincing medical evidence that coenzyme Q10 helps with statin-induced muscle pain; however, anecdotally some people have reported benefits and a one-to-two-month trial of the supplement may … But the reduction in heart disease risk was about twice as great as seen in most So who should consider taking Crestor or perhaps another statin to prevent heart disease? Am I willing and able to make lifestyle changes to improve my health? There were 251 heart disease events in the 8,901 placebo patients and 142 events in those taking Crestor.