Statin Side Effects Are Usually Overcome

Editor's Choice Academic Journal Main Category: Statins Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology;Cholesterol Article Date: 02 Apr 2013 - 0:00 PDT

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The authors believe that the majority of statin-related side effects are bearable and probably have other causes. It is possible that they may be specific to the individual statin medication, rather than the entire drug class, they added.

This is important, because quitting statins forever can significantly raise a patient's risk of serious heart problems. Patients and their doctors need to think carefully before changing their prescription program.

In a previous study, researchers at the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that an estimated 75% of patients on statins report symptoms of muscle pain, which can lead to problems with adherence (compliance).

The researchers in this latest study explained, as background information, that patients often give up taking their statins because of the side effects. However, studies on why this occurs have been limited.

Dr. Alexander Turchin and team set out to determine why people discontinued their statin therapy, as well as listing the type of statin-related events (clinical events or symptoms thought to be caused by statins) in routine care settings.

They carried out a retrospective cohort study of 107,835 patients from practices affiliated with Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. They had all been given a statin prescription between January 1st, 2000, and December 31st, 2008.

The team gathered data on why some of them discontinued their statin therapy from a combination of electronic medical records and analyses of electronic provider notes.

Out of 107,835 patients:

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Statin Side Effects Are Usually Overcome