Health & Medicine

Statins' Benefits And Side Effects: Are Statins Really Harmful? Find Out Here

Justine E.
First Posted: Sep 12, 2016 05:30 AM EDT

Statins' benefits and side effects have become known to various people with cardiovascular concerns. Different claims have been made; and just recently, scientists suggest that these drugs' benefits are understated whereas their harmful side effects are exaggerated. Such claim can affect the people's level of confidence about statins; and more importantly, it can affect numerous lives.

According to Fox News, misleading reports about the statin's high level of harmful side effects have discouraged a lot of people to take medicines that are actually beneficial. For this, there has been a serious cost to public health.

Rory Collins of Britain's Oxford University said that people who take statin therapy to avoid strokes and heart attacks are greater in number than users who experience side effects. Collins is a Clinical Trial Service Unit professor at the said university. His claims are based on findings from a review he took part of.

Collins added that people who experience side effects can reverse them by merely halting the use of statin whereas the effects of stroke and heart attack are irreversible and can indeed be devastating. The side effects of statin include nausea, muscle pain, and liver problems.

According to UPI, the scientists' point is that statin's side effects are worth its long-term benefit on strokes, heart attacks, and other vascular health concerns. Moreover, such side effects are experienced by a very small number of patients.

There have been claims that taking statins can lead to an increase of risk for the following: cataracts, memory loss, liver illness, kidney injury, erectile disjunction, neuropathy, aggression, and suicidal tendency. Nevertheless, the recent review done by researchers does not link statins to these health effects.

As of writing, the best scientific evidence about statins shows that that they are safe, effective, and play a very important role in preventing cardiovascular illness. This is according to Professor Liam Smeeth of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The aforementioned claims about statin indeed have great effects on people's perception about the drug. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality around the globe; hence its effectiveness should not be ignored even amidst reports on its harmful side effects.

Stay tuned to SWR for more updates on Statin benefits and side effects.

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