Statins. Should I take them?

[LauraFaye88]

My dh Qrisk is 14,total 5.2,ldl 2,trygylceride 1.Should he take statins ?He is 68 years old.Thank you.

Yes.

A Qrisk of 14 means he has a moderate risk of heart attack /stroke etc in the next 10 years. It increases with age, regardless of lifestyle, activity or cholesterol level.

Basically, out of a room with 100 people in it, he could be one of 14 out of 100 people to be at risk of developing CVD.

A statin would reduce this risk score, it’s not just about the actual cholesterol level. Everyone with a Qrisk above 10% is recommended to start taking a statin as a preventative.

Thank you so much for your detailed response.

And just as a reassurance I’ve taken them for a year now and have had zero side effects

My dh is more concerned about the long term side effects.

If I had my time again I wouldn't choose statins as they have given me chronic leg pain. Too late to stop taking them now though

@LauraFaye88What sort of long term side effects are there?

With statins it’s usually the case they give the cheapest first but some people need to have other types so if you get problems - I don’t know how common the problems are but muscle weakness and hair loss occur in my family - then go back and say that you won’t take them any more - they tend to proscribe a different type then

I'm 61 and have been taking statins for around 5 years, I think. I've had no side effects from them at all.

I was reluctant to take them on the grounds that I take a shed load of drugs for various health conditions and my cholesterol is low. However my qrisk was 15 and I decided it would be sensible to try and reduce my risk of heart attack or stroke.
I take the lowest dose and unlike pretty much every other drug I take, have never had any side effects.

Both myself and DH are on statins, no side effects. DH is on them after heart attack, although blood tests one month prior didn’t show high cholesterol, he was on a very high dose for a year, he is now on 40mg, I am on 10mg.

Which statins are you on please ?

Please be aware that the muscle aches and weakness that they can cause should be taken very seriously. I am no medical expert, and someone else may be able to explain this side effect in more detail. I know several people who are now steroid reliant purely due to statins. I absolutely am not trying to sway you either way , but should you experience this please talk to your doctor straight away . It’s not mild and has severely impacted mobility .

I've been on simvastatin 40mg for about 10 years now with zero side effects. I have a genetic condition which means I'll be on them forever. My total cholesterol is around 5 but was 9. Lifestyle changes don't make a difference to my levels. The condition affects me, my sister, mum, aunt, daughter and niece. We've had genetic testing and a faulty gene keeps levels elevated. So statins can be lifesavers. I would recommend them for sure.

No definitely not. Much better to make lifestyle modifications. One of the biggest killers of the elderly is prescription medication.

I'd personally pay private for them if didn't qualify for them when older as a Dr. The vast majority of people get no side effects at all and huge benefits (studies are even linking them to reduced risk of cancers particularly colorectal now

My q-risk was 10.5, so just over the limit, but I decided to accept the recommendation to take them. Absolutely no side-effects, and anything that reduces my risk of a heart attack is in my view a good thing!

Why are you asking Mumsnet to make medical decisions?

A) one of the most important contributors to being elderly instead of dead is medication
b) he is 68, which in my book is far from elderly

It’s a really difficult decision imo. DH has heart issues and higher bad cholesterol but having tried 3 different statins has been unable to find one that doesn’t make him feel truly awful. We talked and decided that we would rather he carried on exercising and working and feeling as good as possible rather than taking medication which appears to make this so much harder on a day to day basis in the hope of extending life at some point. He’s only in his early fifties but statins made him feel a decade older. His cardiologist surprisingly agreed.

Sorry to piggy back but grateful for any thoughts- my husband is 51 and his Qrisk is 7. GP has advised he starts statins due to family history (his father had a heart attack in his early 50s). Has anyone been in this situation?

DH won't take them because he has experienced severe side effects with every one he has tried.

My GP wants me to take them based on my QRisk result, but she will not accept that, as I already have a heart condition, it is not appropriate to use Q risk for me in the first place.

Opinions seem generally divided across the board. Malcolm Kendrick has written some interesting stuff on this subject.

@StellaMaryMy QRisk was I think around 7 and with no family history of cardiovascular disease. I asked for statins ( the evidence base for actual and potential benefits is impressive) 20mg of Atorvastatin quickly brought my lipid profile well into normal limits and I’ve had zero side effects

An interesting perspective - do you have any evidence for your statement A? I agree that 68 is not elderly, I didn't say the statins would kill him in the next year or two, I am talking about the long term impact. In the absence of lifestyle modifications he will still be on statins in 10 years' time at which point he will be elderly and will have probably added in a further 2 or 3 medications by then too.

I am male, 67 and have been taking them for fifteen years, without any side effects - touch wood. My cholesterol levels have improved as well and I had an angiogram two years ago which was clear.

I take atorvastatin and am going to try a different one because of muscle pain. I've been taking it for about 18 months and my endocrinologist was fairly dismissive that the muscle pain was due to the statin and was probably just ageing, especially as it's mild, more of a background ache than actual pain. I came off them for four weeks to see what the difference was, and it was actually a huge difference to my quality of life and the amount of activity that I can do. If I can't find a statin that doesn't cause muscle pain then I would rather not take the statin and accept the risk that comes with it. I'm only nearly 60 and don't want to feel so decrepit before I am genuinely old.