Q. I take statins and I’m glad I do. I have had some of the “problems” people fuss about, but I am pretty sure they are just due to my age. I am 75 and still working. More importantly, I just had a 100 percent perfect heart evaluation!
It’s so easy to blame little aches and pains on the drugs you take. But if you get rid of them too soon, you may end up needing nothing but a tombstone.
A. Sometimes people ask us if statins are good or bad, and we have to say it depends on the individual. A man with heart disease is likely to benefit, provided he doesn’t develop intolerable side effects. But a healthy woman with no risk factors except slightly elevated cholesterol may not get much, if any, benefit.
Many people experience no side effects from statins while others are debilitated by muscle weakness or pain: “My husband has been on and off statins for a number of years. The last time he saw his doctor, he was given Crestor. The pain and weakness in his shoulders and upper arms is getting worse and worse.
“My husband has always looked and felt much younger than his age (66). He was an avid cyclist, but this pain has weakened his upper body so much that now he can’t even ride a bicycle.”
Giving up exercise because of statin side effects is not good for the heart or the brain. Our Guide to Cholesterol Control & Heart Health offers other ways of reducing risks.
There has been a great deal of discussion recently about who should take statins. Clearly, people who already have heart disease get the most benefit. Those at very high risk because of a family history of heart disease or an inherited susceptibility to extremely high cholesterol usually also benefit. The controversy has arisen from the development of the CV Risk Calculator presented by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology as a way to determine who else might need a statin. It appears that the calculator overestimates many individuals’ risk of heart disease. Hear what cardiologist Steve Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic has to say about this topic. The research does not show whether people older than 75 clearly get preventive benefit from a statin drug.
