Statin Side Effect

STATINS: A Life Saver or a Silent Killer?

Researchers and studies stated that Statins have adverse side effects. Would the benefits overweigh the risks? Or will an alternative give benefits out of the doubt?


Winchester, KY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/23/2014 -- For the past previous months, the risk of taking the drugs called Statin has been the main concern of most health-related news as it draws debates from different researchers and health specialists. This controversial issue highlights a range of unintended side effects of these cholesterol-busting drugs.

Statins are medicines known for lowering the level of cholesterol in the blood. They do this by curbing the production of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the liver. High levels of 'bad cholesterol' can increase the risk of having a heart attack or a stroke and of developing cardiovascular disease. Hence, these drugs are prescribed by doctors to help protect healthy but high-risk people from heart disease and to prevent heart attacks and strokes in people who have already had problems.

However, effects identified in studies were published by the British Medical Journal. The articles were written by John Abramson from Harvard medical school, and Aseem Malhotra, a UK cardiologist, who both claimed statins caused harmful side-effects and did not reduce mortality. Statins’ adverse effects include liver problems, acute kidney failure, muscle weakness and cataracts.

Conversely, Professor Rory Collins from University of Oxford criticized these articles and emphasized that fears over statins use are misleading the public. He said that BMJ articles had "overestimated the side effects of statin therapy by more than 20 times". This was likely to have encouraged people to either stop taking statins or not to start treatments in the first place.

Recently, statins are once again in the spotlight as the National Health Service considers increasing the use of the drugs (BBC News). It says NHS estimates 7,000 lives are saved by the drugs each year by cutting the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Currently, doctors are meant to offer statin tablets to people who have a 20% chance of developing cardiovascular disease over 10 years, based on risk factors such as their age, sex, whether they smoke and what they weigh. But the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which advises the NHS on its use of drugs, has proposed that people with as low as a 10% risk should be offered the treatment. Nonetheless, the draft guidance is still under consultation and a final decision will be made probably by the end of July.

Despite all the anti-cholesterol propaganda, cholesterol is proven to have vital role in the human body's chemistry, like oxygen is. According to Jimmy Moore in his book entitled "Cholesterol Clarity", indiscriminate use of statins to get cholesterol numbers as low as possible may do more harm than good.

Studies found an alternative to statins which is called Ubiquinol, an active form of Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 is made by the same enzyme in the body as cholesterol. This leads to the conclusion that treatment with the popular cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins reduces the amount of circulating CoQ10 in the blood stream. Therefore medical experts suggest to replenish depleted levels by taking up supplements like the so called Ubiquinol.


In spite of the incessant debates rolling over statins’ issue, considering these supplements as alternatives would possibly be a great help to justify the effectiveness of these cholesterol-busting drugs and at the same time lessen the risks of its adverse side effects.

About Statin Side Effect
Statin Side Effect offers useful information about the health benefits of statins and CoQ10 as well as the health risks. Statin Side Effect encourages visitors and readers to be heart healthy, persons with heart problems can find the site very helpful for them to be fully aware of their situation and probably find an aid to their heath issues.