How safe is the chronic use of the statin medications?
A. Statin therapy is rarely associated with side effects. For patients at high risk of heart disease or stroke, the benefits of statins far outweigh their risks. Common side effects include headache, myalgia, fatigue, GI intolerance (indigestion, constipation and abdominal pain) and flu-like symptoms. Increase in liver enzymes occurs in 0.5-2.5% patients in a dose dependent manner. If liver enzymes rise to more than three times their normal levels while a person is taking statins, stopping the drug usually causes the level to fall back to normal. Serious liver problems are quite rare. Myopathy occurs in 0.2-0.4% of patients. This is a reason to stop the medication immediately and check muscle enzymes. Rare cases of rhabdomyolysis do occur. One case of polyneuropathy occurs for every 2,200 patients treated with statins each year. These agents should be cautiously used in those with impared renal function. Overall the best approach to the use of statins is to start with the lowest effect
