Statins are a group of drugs that has proven effective in lowering cholesterol levels in patients suffering from high total cholesterol. By lowering cholesterol levels, statins reduce the patient's risk of stroke and heart attacks. Examples of statins include simvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and atorvastatin. Patients usually take statins as a lifetime treatment. Long-term use of statins can cause rare side effects that should be taken into account prior to the administration of the statin drugs.
Muscle Damage
Myopathy, or muscle damage, has been reported in approximately 11 of 100,000 cases, reports the "British Medical Journal". The muscle damage can cause muscle pain. The pain can manifest as tiredness, weakness or soreness of the muscles. It can start of as a mild sensation, but can quickly worsen and severely inhibit the patient's daily activities.
In rare cases, statins can produce a life-threatening condition called rhabdomyolysis, according to the "British Medical Journal". Rhabdomyolysis is severe damage and destruction of muscles within the body. In serious cases, rhabdomyolysis can cause kidney damage, liver failure and death. This is an obscure side effect that only occurs in 3.4 patients in 100,000 patients. Rhabdomyolysis has been found to be more common in patients who are taking statin drugs along with certain other drugs such as glemfibrozil.
Nervous System Side Effects
Statins have been noted to cause problems in the nervous system, according to Drugs.com. The more common nervous system side effect is a headache, which occurs in 6.5 percent of cases. Other more obscure side effects include tremors, vertigo, memory loss, numbness, weakness and paralysis. These nervous effects are less common then headaches, but do develop in patients who have been taking statin drugs for an extended period.
Digestive Side Effects
Digestive side effects have been noted in patients taking statins, according to the Mayo Clinic. These symptoms are vary rare and might be caused by pre-existing conditions the patients have in their digestive systems. These digestive symptoms include nausea, diarrhea or constipation. In order to reduce these side effects, patients should take the statin medication with their evening meal. If the symptoms worsen and start interfering with the patient's daily lifestyle, then the statin drug should be discontinued and another anti-cholesterol taken.
