Zocor (simvastatin) is a medication that helps to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and total cholesterol in the blood. It works to prevent heart disease, vascular disease and other conditions that can cause heart attacks and stroke. Zocor may cause unwanted side effects, so it is important to contact your doctor if you experience any of the symptoms described below.
Bothersome Side Effects
In clinical trials, approximately 1.4 percent of participants discontinued use of Zocor because of bothersome adverse reactions, according to RX List. The most common adverse reactions that led people to discontinue treatment were gastrointestinal conditions, myalgia (muscle pain) and arthralgia (joint pain). Because these trials were conducted under varying conditions, it is not possible to estimate how common these side effects are in the general population.
Common Side Effects
The most commonly reported adverse side effects, occurring in roughly 5 to 9 percent of patients participating in clinical trials, were upper respiratory infections, headache, abdominal pain, constipation and nausea.
Other side effects reported in at least 2 percent of people taking 20 to 40 milligrams of Zocor per day for a median of 5.4 years include edema (swelling), abdominal pain, atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat), constipation, gastritis (irritation and swelling of the stomach lining), diabetes, muscle pain, headache, insomnia, vertigo, bronchitis, sinusitis, eczema and urinary tract infection, as reported by RX List.
Other reported adverse reactions include diarrhea, rash, dyspepsia (indigestion), flatulence (gas) and asthenia (lack of strength and energy).
Side Effects Among Adolescents
Zocor has been evaluated in a clinical trial among adolescents with inherited high cholesterol. The most common adverse reactions were headache, abdominal pain, upper respiratory infections and nausea.
Serious Side Effects
Zocor may cause liver dysfunction in some people. According to RX List, elevated liver enzymes to greater than 3 times the normal level have occurred in approximately 1 percent of patients in clinical trials. Enzyme elevations generally returned to pretreatment levels once treatment was interrupted or stopped.
Zocor may also cause muscle disease characterized by muscle pain or weakness and creatine kinase (an enzyme found in heart, brain and muscle) levels ten times the normal level. It may also cause acute renal failure and rhabdomyolysis--a condition in which skeletal muscle breaks down. According to RX List, these conditions appear to be dose-related (the higher the dose, the more likely the condition is to develop).
Other Reported Side Effects
Other side effects have been reported by people taking Zocor in the general population. As these side effects are reported voluntarily, it is unknown how commonly they occur. Some of these adverse effects include itching, hair loss, skin changes (including discoloration, dryness and formation of nodules), changes to hair and nails, dizziness, muscle cramps, memory impairment, pancreatitis, paresthesia, peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage), vomiting, anemia, hepatitis, jaundice, liver failure and depression.
According to RX List, immune system hypersensitivity reactions have caused a rare syndrome characterized by features that include angioedema (swelling beneath the skin), anaphylaxis (life-threatening allergic response), a lupus-like syndrome, arthritis, joint pain, hives, polymyalgia rheumatica (inflammatory disorder causing hip or shoulder pain and stiffness), dermatomyositis (inflammatory muscle disease accompanied by a skin rash), vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels), thrombocytopenia (disorder characterized by insufficient platelets), leucopenia (low white blood count), fever, chills, flushing, malaise, breathlessness, erythema multiforme (acute, inflammatory skin condition) and toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (two forms of a life-threatening skin condition).
