Mild workout can help to combat statin side-effects

THE most common side-effect experienced by people taking statins could be countered by moderate exercise.

Some people taking the cholesterollowering drug complain of muscle pain and researchers now believe they know why.

A team of researchers, funded by the British Heart Foundation, found that statins cause spontaneous and irregular leaks of calcium from storage compartments within muscle cells.

Most people can tolerate this leak, but in others it may overwhelm the muscle cells, causing pain and weakness.

Statins are the most commonly prescribed drugs in the UK, with about eight million people taking them.

Some researchers have claimed as many as one in five of those taking the drugs will suffer some kind of negative consequence, such as muscle pain.

Dr Sarah Calaghan, associate professor in cardiac physiology at the University of Leeds, said: “The idea that exercise makes statin side-effects worse might be a misconception – what really matters is the intensity of exercise. We found that moderate exercise cancelled out the changes in muscle cells caused by statins.

“We know around seven in 10 professional athletes can’t tolerate statins and we know that intense endurance exercise has profound effects on the gatekeeper proteins targeted by statins.

“The added effect of statins could push muscles over the edge, leading to symptoms.”

The research, which also involved Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, was published in the journal JACC: Basic to Translational Science.