Statin Guide

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (of 7)	Previous

Statin Side Effects

Some people who take statins worry about liver dysfunction or complain of muscle aches and pains and memory loss. The University of California, San Diego is currently investigating statins’ effect on thinking, mood, and behavior.

Muscle aches are, by far, the most common complaint, but cardiologists say it’s difficult to know if the muscle aches are caused by the statin or are simply part of aging. (Most people who take statins are older than 50.)

Christopher B. Granger, M.D., FACC, director of the cardiac care unit at Duke University Medical Center, says a clinical trial of 10,000 patients taking pravastatin compared muscle complaints with people taking a placebo, and both groups had equal complaints.

“People are so sensitized to side effects through TV advertising,” Granger says.

Cardiologists report many patients stop taking statins because of perceived or real side effects even though they’ve had a cardiac event and should be taking a statin.