Take your statins...they work

STATINS – which lower cholesterol – have a reputation for causing a range of side effects. Critics have claimed – inaccurately – up to a third of patients suffer things like muscle aches and fatigue on the pills. But research which involved more than four million patients published this week showed that 90 per cent of people who take the pills suffer no side effects at all. Of course I have patients who genuinely have a hard time with the tablets. Usually, when we switch to a different brand, the problems resolve. And if they don’t, there are other cholesterol-lowering drugs to try.

Statins are remarkable medicines that play an important role in preventing heart attacks and strokes. If they’re recommended, it means you’re at risk, so don’t be put off by those scare stories.