Tuesday 24 May 2022 12:52 AM Will coming off statins put my heart at risk? DR MARTIN SCURR answers your ... trends now
After nearly 25 years taking statins, I’ve been moved off them by my doctor because a blood test showed I have abnormal levels of liver enzymes. I’m 70, eat healthily and exercise daily, but I have a family history of high cholesterol. I’m worried about stopping these drugs.
Joyce Boffey, by email.
I can understand your concern. As you explain in your longer letter, both your parents died before the age of 60 from heart disease, and this genetic medical history represents a major risk factor for developing heart disease yourself.
It’s a good idea for those with a family history of heart disease to take statins. The drugs work by lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol, and are known to reduce cardiovascular risk — in other words, the chances of developing heart disease or having a heart attack or stroke — by 20 per cent to 30 per cent in people who are at greater risk.
Family history is one of several factors that increase risk — the others are smoking, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and a sedentary lifestyle.
As you explain in your longer letter, both your parents died before the age of 60 from heart disease, and this genetic medical history represents a major risk factor for developing heart disease yourself
Statins have much lower rates of adverse reactions than most other types of cholesterol-lowering drugs — but abnormal liver function does occur in a very small percentage of patients (between 0.5 per cent and 3 per cent), though normally in the first three months after starting treatment. This can only be identified through routine blood tests.
However, even then, several studies have shown that people taking a placebo pill can also have raised liver-enzyme levels — that’s why doctors tend to allow for enzyme levels to be up to three times the normal range before they take a patient off their statin.
What strikes me as unusual in your story is that the higher liver-enzyme level was only spotted recently, despite your two decades on these drugs. This is why you’ve been referred to a specialist.
The recent nature of this makes me wonder if there might be another cause and, if so, whether it might be worth only temporarily stopping the statins — perhaps for three to six months — to see if the levels return to normal. A short period without the cholesterol suppression provided by statins should not put you in danger.
There’s also the option of trying a different
