Statin is the most common drug prescribed by doctors to lower the cholesterol. Since it’s launch in 1987, there have been many official and unofficial reports of adverse side effects from taking Statin. However, the US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has been slow to recognize them until recently.

On Tuesday, 28th February, the US FDA finally announced changing of labels of Statin drugs to reflect the health risks.  The Statin drugs involved are Altoprev, Crestor, Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Pravachol, Zocor, Advicor, Simcor and Vytorin.

What are the health risks of Statin?

1) Liver Injury

Statin drugs work by blocking the pathway for the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver. Early clinical trials signal possible liver damage tied to Statin use. Doctors were advised to regularly test their patients for liver enzyme level. But liver damage is rare and the test is not effective at preventing the side effects.

The updated information recommends testing for liver enzyme before beginning to take Statin and as required there after.

2) Memory Loss

Some Statin users have reported negative impact to brain functions such as memory loss, forgetfulness, and confusion. The symptoms were reversible within weeks of stopping the drug.

3) Diabetes

A small increase in risk of raised blood sugar level and Type 2 diabetes have been reported by a group of Statin users. Therefore, blood sugar levels need to be assessed regularly when taking Statin.

4) Muscle Damage

Some drugs interact with Statin in a way to increase the risk of muscle damage causing unexplained muscle weakness or pain. This is called myopathy. Some drugs are broken down in the same pathway as Statin do, thereby increasing the amount of Statin in the blood and increasing the risk of muscle damage at the same time. Therefore, the drugs should not be consumed as the same time.

Rather than relying on Statin drugs to control cholesterol level, you should change to a healthy diet and lifestyle to bring cholesterol level to healthy level naturally. In fact, cholesterol is important to our body and having high cholesterol is not a risk for heart disease and stroke.

Take control of your health and reduce your reliance on drugs as they put pressure on the liver to detox the drugs metabolism.

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