Dr Mark Porter: can statins cause stiffness?
Saga Magazine's medical expert on whether statins can cause muscle stiffness.
Image credit: Getty/Ocskaymark
Saga Magazine's medical expert on whether statins can cause muscle stiffness.
Q. I had a heart attack 18 months ago and was started on a lot of new medicines, including a statin to lower my cholesterol.
Over the past few months I’ve become increasingly stiff, and now struggle to get up from a chair, or out of my car after a long drive. It feels like I have overdone it in the gym.
Could it be the statins and, if so, what can I do about it? I’d prefer to stay on them given my heart trouble.
Statins have a reputation for causing muscle aches and stiffness but, while this is a recognised side effect, it is not as widespread as previously thought.
Indeed, recent research suggests complaints about aches and pains are just as common in people taking dummy statins (placebos) as the real thing, suggesting that the drugs are not responsible for most complaints, although they invariably get the blame.
If you have already had a heart attack you will be getting more protection from the statin than someone taking the medication to prevent a first heart attack or stroke, so it is important that you – and your doctor – know if it is the real cause of your symptoms. And that there is nothing else going on that could explain your stiffness (common in older people).
One way to do that is to stop the atorvastatin for 3-4 weeks to see if your stiffness improves before starting them again to see if it returns. But please only try this after discussing the pros and cons with your GP.
If this confirms you might be experiencing statin side effects, your GP may suggest reducing the dose, switching to another type or considering an alternative medication.
And if you don’t improve, it should prompt further investigation of what might be responsible, which could be anything from joint and nerve problems to polymyalgia rheumatica.
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