That is why statins widely used given the impact of CVD on public health and that statins are effective and tolerated well by most people. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine found that cholesterol-lowering drugs were the most prescribed medications in Guidelines by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology recommend statin therapy for people that fall into one of four categories of risk factors.
Cholesterol travels via your bloodstream. This is where LDL cholesterol can form plaques. Plaques are thick, hard deposits that cling to the walls of arteries and restrict blood flow.
They also can break off. When this happens the body forms blood clots, which can lead to stroke and other serious health conditions. Statins work by inhibiting an enzyme that your liver needs to produce LDL cholesterol.
Side effects people experience may improve with time or by switching to another statin. Rare but serious side effects include:.
Analysis of these studies has shown that the risk is minimal, and influenced by additional risk factors. You should not take statins if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or if you have active liver disease. There are also medications you should not take with statins. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before starting statin therapy. Grapefruit can interfere with enzymes that metabolize statins. You can end up with too much of the medication circulating in your bloodstream.
This increases your risk for severe side effects associated with statins. The American Heart Association journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes , published a report on an analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Controlling cholesterol with statins. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed Jan. Rosenson RS. Statins: Actions, side effects and administration. Rosenson RS, et al. Statin muscle-related adverse events. Ferri FF. Statin-induced muscle syndromes. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Philadelphia, Pa. Adhyaru BB, et al. Safety and efficacy of statin therapy. Nature Reviews Cardiology.
Alonso R, et al. Diagnosis and management of statin intolerance. Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis. Mach F, et al.
Adverse effects of statin therapy: Perception vs. European Heart Journal. About cholesterol. American Heart Association. Statin intolerance. Rochester, Minn. Anyanwagu U, et al. Drug-induced diabetes mellitus: Evidence for statins and other drugs affecting glucose metabolism. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Lopez-Jimenez F expert opinion. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 18, See also After a flood, are food and medicines safe to use? Arcus senilis: A sign of high cholesterol?
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Hypothyroidism: Can calcium supplements interfere with treatment? Hypothyroidism diet Hypothyroidism and joint pain? Hypothyroidism: Should I take iodine supplements? Lipitor is the brand name of the medication atorvastatin, which is a statin that reduces blood cholesterol. The risk of experiencing side effects when taking this drug is low. When side effects do occur, the most common are muscle pain and joint pain.
In this article, we discuss the side effects and other possible risks of taking Lipitor. Lipitor is a statin, which is a class of drug that helps lower cholesterol levels by reducing the amount of this substance that the liver produces.
As a result, this medication helps lower the risk of heart related health events in people with risk factors for these issues. A person at high risk is also less likely to need stents or bypass surgery when they take this drug.
People who are at risk for coronary heart disease may benefit from taking Lipitor. Lipitor can also help people with an abnormal lipid profile and those with type 2 diabetes who have cardiac risk factors. Muscle pains and cramps are more likely when a person first starts taking Lipitor or when they increase their dosage.
People who are 65 years of age or older may be more at risk of this side effect than younger adults. Sometimes, doctors will notice that people experiencing muscle pains with Lipitor also have high levels of a liver protein called creatine phosphokinase.
If this is the case, they will monitor the levels of this protein while decreasing the dosage of Lipitor. They may choose to replace Lipitor with another cholesterol lowering drug. Doctors will perform liver function tests before prescribing Lipitor, as it can affect the results of these tests. After taking the drug for at least 6 weeks, doctors will recheck the liver to make sure that the drug has not caused any significant changes to the liver function.
If the person has elevated test results, the doctor will check their blood at more frequent intervals until the measures normalize. Sometimes, the doctor may need to lower the dosage of Lipitor or stop this treatment altogether. Research has linked Lipitor to a serious muscle condition called rhabdomyolysis , which can cause kidney failure. If this occurs, doctors will stop the drug and provide the individual with plenty of fluids to prevent kidney failure.
People who have kidney disease or take certain other medications alongside Lipitor may be more at risk of developing rhabdomyolysis. Doctors diagnose rhabdomyolysis by checking the blood levels of creatine phosphokinase. Most experts agree that a number five times the normal limit can confirm a diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis. Statins and other cholesterol lowering medications can affect the function of the liver.
At higher dosages, the risk of liver function test abnormalities increases. In rare cases, people have experienced fatal and nonfatal liver failure as a result of taking statins.
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