For any person with high cholesterol, it is important to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as following a heart-healthy diet, getting regular physical activity, and maintaining a healthy weight. But if it becomes necessary, your doctor might prescribe cholesterol-lowering medications. Very commonly, the medication prescribed for high cholesterol is a form of statin drug.
Statin Drugs
Statin drugs are important cholesterol-lowering medications that can play a critical role in the prevention as well as treatment of cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, some people are unable to take these medications because of their negative effects on the bones, muscles, and connective tissue. For people who take a statin drug, it is important to be aware of these potential side effects and seek a doctor’s help if symptoms arise.
The Side Effects
Here are some of the side effects of statin medications and tips for what to do about them:
Muscle toxicity. A common side effect of statin drugs is muscle toxicity. This toxicity can be mild, leading to inflammation of the muscles (myositis), or severe, leading to breakdown of muscle tissue (rhabdomyolosis) which itself can lead to serious complications – even death. A person might have symptoms such as muscle aches (myalgias) or pain, and muscle weakness. These symptoms can range from mild to severe. Any person who is taking a statin medication and develops these symptoms should see a doctor.
Sometimes, muscle damage can occur without symptoms. This is why it’s important to see a doctor regularly who can monitor your blood work to make sure the medicine is not causing serious side effects. It’s not exactly clear why statins cause muscle toxicity. But researchers know that combining other medications with a statin, taking high doses of statins, having a genetic predisposition, and being at an advanced age are all things that can lead to muscle toxicity or make it worse.
Tendonitis. A study conducted by French researchers found that in addition to muscle toxicity, statins might increase the risk of tendonitis. They studied a national database of medication side effects that spanned 15 years and found 96 patients who suffered from tendonitis or had a tendon rupture while taking statin medication. Tendon problems occurred more frequently after the first year of taking the medication. A variety of statin drugs were linked to tendon problems. The researchers state that while tendon complications appear to be rare while a person is taking statins, both physicians and patients should be aware of the side effects and take precautions. If you have tendonitis and take a statin, see your doctor to find out if the medicine might be contributing to the symptoms.
These musculoskeletal and connective tissue side effects might also occur more frequently when people take other medications – such as diuretics, antibiotics, and other cholesterol-lowering medications – along with statins. Those medications might increase the toxicity and side effects of the statins.
If you are taking a statin drug, talk with your doctor about potential side effects. There are other cholesterol-lowering drugs to take if you are not able to take a statin drug. And, in many cases, adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors can lower your cholesterol. |
