Statin Guide

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How Statins Work

Statins captured the medical world’s attention after a 1994 clinical trial (Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study), which clearly showed that people with heart disease who took statins lived longer. Until then, not all cardiologists were convinced of the importance of lowering cholesterol to fight heart disease.

Statins are a class of drugs that block HMG-CoA reductase. Simply put, that’s an enzyme your liver uses to make cholesterol. When statins block that enzyme, your body produces less cholesterol, so the liver pulls cholesterol from blood, therefore lowering the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood.

The drugs also have other benefits, says Leslie Cho, M.D., director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Women’s Cardiovascular Center. They contain anti-inflammatory properties, which help stabilize the lining of blood vessels, says Cho. This means plaque is less likely to rupture, thus reducing the risk of a heart attack.