Statins are actually very safe and could save your life

[Retro]

Some people are worried about the side effects of taking statins, but they shouldn't be. If your doctor prescribes them, take them, they could prevent a fatal heart attack.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, used by millions, are far safer than previously thought, a major review has found.

Leaflets in packs should be changed to reflect this and avoid scaring people off using the life-saving pills, say the authors.

Statins do not cause the majority of the possible side effects listed, including memory loss, depression, sleep disturbance, weight gain and impotence, says the team funded by the British Heart Foundation. Meanwhile, they can slash a person's risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The results, in The Lancet journal, external, come from trials involving more than 120,000 people comparing statins with a dummy drug or placebo.

Statins are highly effective at lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and have been repeatedly proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease - a condition that causes some 10 million deaths worldwide and a quarter of all deaths in the UK, say the researchers from Oxford University.

As with any medicine, there can be side effects, but these are few.

Statin pills much safer than advertised, major review finds

The results, in The Lancet journal, come from trials involving more than 120,000 people comparing statins with a dummy drug or placebo.

www.bbc.co.uk