The case in favour of statins Cholesterol is the single greatest risk factor for heart disease and a major risk factor in stroke and disease of the arteries. Statins reduce harmful cholesterol by slowing its production in the liver.
They’re proven to reduce heart attack and stroke by reducing harmful cholesterol which thickens arteries and increases risk of clots. A review of 90,000 statin users by the Medical Research Council in Oxford and the University of Sydney concluded that risk of fatal heart attack or stroke fell by about a third.
Benefits started immediately, increased the longer they were taken and the further cholesterol fell. It reported statins are especially valuable to people at high risk of heart attack or stroke and they protect patients whose cholesterol was considered normal.
Life savers
There’s no question that statins save lives. Cardiovascular disease is the nation’s biggest killer causing 238,000 deaths a year. It’s estimated by Roger Boyle, the government’s National Director for Coronary Heart Disease, that statins save 9,000 lives a year in the UK. They particularly benefit those who have suffered heart attack or stroke, or have angina or peripheral arterial disease.
Statins have been tried and tested for 20 years. They’ve been in use for over a decade and most trials, involving tens of thousands of patients, continued for five years or more.
Dr Kendrick uses studies selectively. He doesn’t mention the trials involving tens of thousands of people showing benefit from statins. He focuses entirely on the negative. Equally you don’t have to believe that the whole population should be on statins. I certainly do not.
Side effects
As well being effective statins are usually well tolerated by patients who can expect to stay on them for life. Trials show they’re relatively free of adverse side effects and that most people take them without trouble, but as with any effective drug, there are associated risks including diarrhoea, flatulence, headaches, fatigue, sleeplessness and liver problems. Statins cause some users to have difficulty climbing stairs, lack energy and have painful muscles after exercise. These side effects must of course be taken into account and if they persist or get worse then the drugs must be stopped. But this is not the case for most people taking statins.
More serious muscle breakdown occurs rarely and is usually reversible on stopping the drug. In a very small number of cases muscles can be damaged but is rarely life-threatening. Muscle damage caused by one statin, cerivastatin (Baycol) was severe and widespread enough –it killed several hundred people -for it to be withdrawn in 2001.
There’s nothing to suggest the statins currently available –[simvastatin (Zocor), pravastatin (Lipostat), fluvastatin (Lescol), atorvastatin (Lipitor) and rosuvastatin (Crestor)] are anything like as dangerous and there’s little between them in terms of risks.
Memory loss is reported by some but two large trials found no difference in cognitive loss and dementia in older patients. Sometimes statin users develop liver problems but it’s unclear whether these are more common in this group than in non-users. There are only two cases in the world of serious liver damage. Liver tests are usually done before treatment starts and during therapy.
Side effects certainly do occur but the Dutch survey Kendrick mentions doesn’t reveal what percentage of patients would have suffered such problems if they were taking a placebo tablet.
Women and statins
While there’s widespread agreement that both sexes with heart disease should be offered statins, there’s debate about whether women at moderate risk of heart attack and stroke should have them.
Trials of men and women at moderate risk show a reduced risk with statins but not enough women participated to produce definitive results. Until a large-scale trial assesses effectiveness in moderate risk women, statins should be avoided in most lower risk women. But for those at moderate risk, the drug should not be ruled out.
While there’s some evidence that taking Co Q10 may reduce risk of muscle damage and other side effects, no large studies confirm this. Current guidelines do not recommend routine use in statin users although it appears to be safe.
Any side-effects must be taken seriously and acted upon if they cause the patient serious inconvenience or discomfort, not to mention added risk of potentially life threatening muscle problems.
Doctors are advisers and can’t dictate what patients should take. Unless you feel acute discomfort it’s best to talk to your GP before stopping statins. Alternative medication is possible or perhaps coming off statins and waiting and watching to see what happens to cholesterol, according to the patient’s risk of heart attack or stroke. There are disagreements as to whether stopping statins suddenly is harmful: we’re simply not sure.