Could we use statins to treat COVID-19?

Already, several investigators have compared the outcomes of COVID-19 infections in patients who take statins with those who do not. The results have been reassuring, generally suggesting that statin use does not cause harm. And in one of the largest studies of its kind, statin use was associated with fewer deaths. But while the results of these studies are interesting and important, they cannot answer the question of whether statins could treat COVID-19.

 Do statins really work? Who benefits? Who has the power to cover up the side effects?

... the decades long campaign to lower cholesterol through diet and drugs has completely and utterly failed to curb the global pandemic of heart disease. Indeed, heart disease still remains the biggest killer in the western world and the UK has recently seen a rise in death rates from the condition for the first time in 50 years

 For Older People, Reassuring News in the Statin Debate

There is accumulating evidence that the benefits of statins far outweigh possible risks, and nearly all statins on the market are now available as inexpensive generics.

 Half of People Miss Benefits of Statins

Many people who are prescribed statins are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease because they stop taking the drugs.

 Preventing heart disease requires more than medicine

Like more than half of older men, I take a cholesterol-lowering medication called a statin. Sometimes that seems a bit strange, because I don’t have high cholesterol. My doctor prescribed it based on a formula that largely hinges on age and sex.

 Should We All Be Taking Statins?

So no, we shouldn't all be on statins. But until something better comes along (and I hope it will), they are worth considering for anyone who is in a higher-risk group for cardiovascular disease.

 Statins may not lower cholesterol enough in half those who take them

“These findings contribute to the debate on the effectiveness of statin therapy and highlight the need for personalised medicine in lipid management for patients,” the team, from the University of Nottingham, UK, write.

 The big fat debate on cholesterol and statins

This means 97 people have to take pills for 10 years in order that three people benefit. The big problem with statins is not whether they benefit those at very high risk (they do), but the uncritical mass medication of people at low risk, 97% of whom will get no benefit at all. Those who do not benefit are nonetheless exposed to potential side effects, which include an increase in the rate of diabetes. What drives these recommendations for medicating large numbers of people for the benefit of very few?

 What you need to know about statins

Statins are constantly in the news, with the media sometimes advocating the benefits, other times focusing on suggested side effects, and often being laced with controversy. Many of us may not fully understand the true facts about the medication, how it can benefit us, and whether or not it is of relevance to us.

 When the Benefits of Statins Outweigh the Risks

Knowing the odds of side effects and making sure to get periodic checkups that would pick up an adverse reaction, I chose to focus on the drugs’ potential benefits.

Apolipoprotein B (apoB)

Several studies have shown that apoB may be a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk than LDL-C.

How One Scientist Intrigued by Molds Found First Statin

It took two years and thousands of moldy broths for Akira Endo to find something that reduces cholesterol. His breakthrough, drawn from a mold like one that grows on oranges, turned out to be the first in a class of medicines that today brings $25 billion a year to pharmaceutical companies.

Are Doctors Overprescribing Statins?

Yes, statins do save lives, and some people really need to take them. From that perspective, they are good and necessary drugs. But they also have side effects, such as muscle pain and fatigue. In other words, they can lower a patient's quality of life and/or prevent him from exercising, which is counterproductive.

FDA Clears New Type of Cholesterol Drug

Doctors see the drug as an alternative for millions of patients who can’t take or aren’t responding to statins. Doctors have sought additional therapies, but a recent new class of drugs—injectable therapies known as PCSK9 inhibitors—have seen slow uptake, in part because of their high cost.

Statins - The Cochrane Review

Statin drugs have been surrounded by controversy for a number of reasons.

Statins' benefits beyond heart health aren't clear-cut, analysis says

Despite some studies suggesting that statin drugs have benefits beyond cardiovascular health, for such issues as cancer and Alzheimer's, a broad new analysis says there's a lack of compelling evidence linking such benefits to statins -- and, thus, little reason to change recommendations for who gets these cholesterol-lowering meds and why.

Study supports benefit of statin use for older adults

Statin drugs have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young and middle-aged adults. With older adults (those 75 and over), the benefits are less clear. But a recent study published in the European Heart Journal suggests that there is in fact a benefit to statin use in this older population.

There's still a lot we don't know about the new cholesterol-lowering drugs

Statins are important because they lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. But there are patients who can't tolerate statins, and others with genetic disorders such as familial hypercholesterolemia who cannot lower their cholesterol enough to see a benefit on statins alone. This is why doctors have been really excited about a new class of cholesterol-lowering medicines known as PCSK9 inhibitors.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Statins

Have you and your doctor discussed the pros and cons of statin therapy and whether it is appropriate for your circumstances? If not, now is the time to do so. Too often, patients are given a prescription with little or no discussion of what the drug can mean for their health, and that affects their willingness to take it or stay on it.

A New Frontier For Statins

Cholesterol-lowering drugs may help prevent yeast infections.

Are you taking the right treatment for your high cholesterol?

Our analysis and new guidelines could change your choice.

Assault on Science

Bottom line: The headline should be that the bestselling pills of all time don't save lives or reduce major illness for most who take them. But that has been obscured by a war on science. The war includes many assaults: performing trials that weed out side effects, claiming they should be used to counsel patients, maintaining secret databases, and, worst of all, trash-targeting a journal for publishing a discovery that brings truth to millions.

Before Starting A Statin, Talk It Over With Your Doctor

It's important to note that statin drugs are generally safe, and harms are uncommon. On the other hand, the benefits aren't that great, either. Anywhere from 50 to 200 healthy people need to take a statin daily to prevent a single heart attack for five years, so even small harms may outweigh the potential benefits, the Swiss scientists say. The most common side effect of these drugs is muscle pain, which usually goes away if patients stop taking the medicines. People taking statins are also at a higher risk of developing diabetes, which is harder to reverse.

Could this widely used calculator be needlessly driving people to take statins?

The risk calculator was criticized as soon as it was released in 2013, and the skeptics said the new study confirms their suspicions. If physicians use the risk predictions to identify people who should be on a statin, as the cardiology groups recommend, then at least some of those prescribed the powerful drugs “won’t benefit from them,” said epidemiologist Nancy Cook of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the new study.

Do statins work better for men than for women? Drugs are better at preventing deaths and strokes

Statins work far better for men than they do for women, researchers claim.

Do You Really Need That Statin? This Expert Says No

There is no question that many doctors have swallowed the Kool-Aid. Big Pharma has consistently exaggerated the benefits of statins and some physicians used scare tactics so that patients are afraid that if they go off the statins, they will have a heart attack immediately.

How bad reporting on statins may have led thousands to quit their meds

Now, here’s where things get a little complicated. Not everyone agrees that more people quitting statins as a result of the media coverage was necessarily a bad thing.

New cholesterol meds may be the costliest drugs in US history

Cholesterol lowering statins like lipitor are some of the most widely taken drugs of the last century. They’ve prevented countless episodes of heart disease, and do so relatively cheaply. But that might be thrown into disarray by the approval of two effective yet expensive new drugs, so called PCSK9 inhibitors called Preluant (manufactured by Regeneron) and Repatha (from Amgen), the second approved last week.

Patients Take Big Risks When Stopping Statins

One in five patients report muscle aches, new research shows, but some doctors warn the benefits outweigh any discomfort.

Playing The Odds With Statins: Heart Disease Or Diabetes?

For women of a certain age, statins are supposedly the best thing since Lycra for keeping wayward bodies in check. Statins interfere with the synthesis of low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" cholesterol. LDL is a prime suspect in heart disease, the top killer of women. The statin cut my cholesterol like buttah. But statins can also increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, muscle and/or liver damage. Heart trouble and diabetes run in my family. Was I trading a heart attack for diabetes?

Should I Stop My Statins?

You've probably heard of Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor. You may even be taking one of these cholesterol-lowering drugs, which are known as statins. They are the most commonly prescribed medication, and for years, they’ve been touted as the best way to manage cholesterol. Now, top Harvard cardiologists are questioning current cholesterol guidelines.

Some People Really Can't Take Statins For High Cholesterol, Scientists Prove

Statins, in rare cases, have long been known to cause a side effect called rhabdomyolysis, in which the muscles are literally eaten away. One statin, Bayer's Baycol, was withdrawn from the market because of this side effect, as was the top dose of Merck's Zocor. But there are also a lot of people who complain of symptoms that aren't rhabdomyolysis: general achiness and muscle pain that many patients describe as intolerable.

Statins: A Miracle Drug That Could Prevent and Reverse Disease?

Long prescribed to reduce levels of cholesterol in the blood, high doses of statins might even end plaque build-up, according to researchers.

Statins: Is there any need for us to worry?

The supposed risks of taking cholesterol-busting drugs have been under the spotlight, but common fears are unfounded, says epidemiologist Rory Collins.

Statins: Past and Present

Merck began clinical trials of lovastatin in healthy volunteers in 1980. Lovastatin was shown to be dramatically effective for lowering LDL cholesterol in healthy volunteers, with no obvious adverse effects.

The Big Problem With Statins That Medicare Patients Need to Know About

The statins did what we thought they would do. They stabilized the scarring process that results in atherosclerosis and lowered the likelihood of more heart problems, and the people who couldn’t take them couldn’t get that benefit. No surprises here — except for one thing: taking a statin didn’t seem to lengthen lifespans.

These Cholesterol-Reducers May Save Lives. So Why Aren’t Heart Patients Getting Them?

Powerful PCSK9 inhibitors were supposed to revolutionize care for cardiac patients. But insurers and other payers balked at sky-high prices.

You’re Over 75, and You’re Healthy. Why Are You Taking a Statin?

Should a 76-year-old who doesn’t have heart disease, but does have certain risk factors for developing it, take a statin to ward off heart attacks or strokes? You’d think we’d have a solid answer to this question.