Lipitor and Zocor can damage your liver and kidneys

[Guest guest]

Not a brilliant article BUT does contain information... which is slowly creeping out to the public domain............ Clare in Taz

 

 

Statins such as Lipitor and Zocor can damage your liver and kidneys

 

http://www.examiner.com/x-17695-Tampa-Health-Care-Examiner~y2009m11d8-Statins-can-damage-your-liver-and-kidneys-what-to-do-instead#

 

 

 

 

 

Although statins such as Lipitor and Zocor are widely used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disorders, new research shows that the class of drugs may actually have negative effects on some cardiac patients.

A new study presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), on Thursday found that statins have beneficial effects on patients with systolic heart failure (SHF), but those with diastolic heart failure (DHF) experienced the opposite effect, including increased dyspnea, fatigue, and decreased exercise tolerance.

According to the Mayo Clinic staff

 

If the only risk factor you have is high cholesterol, you may not need medication because your risk of heart attack and stroke is probably already low.

Lifestyle changes are essential for reducing your risk of heart disease, whether you take a statin or not. Quitting smoking, eating a healthy diet, getting daily activity and managing stress are examples of lifestyle changes that will improve cholesterol, and most all of the other risk factors for heart disease. In fact, lifestyle changes may have a greater impact on reducing risk of heart disease and stroke than does medication alone.

There are two potentially serious side effects of statins of which you need to be aware:

 

Liver damage. Occasionally, statin use causes an increase in liver enzymes. If the increase is only mild, you can continue to take the drug. If the increase is severe, you may need to stop taking it, which usually reverses the problem. If left unchecked, increased liver enzymes can lead to permanent liver damage.

Kidney damage. Statins may cause muscle pain and tenderness (statin myopathy). The higher the dose of statin you take, the more likely you are to have muscle pains. In severe cases, muscle cells can break down (rhabdomyolysis) and release a protein called myoglobin into the bloodstream. Myoglobin can damage your kidneys. Certain drugs when taken with statins can increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis. These include gemfibrozil, erythromycin (Erythrocin), antifungal medications, nefazodone (Serzone), cyclosporine and niacin.

If you take statins and have new muscle aching or tenderness, check with your health care practitioner. It's important to consider the effects of statins on other organs in your body, especially if you have health problems such as liver or kidney disease. Also, check out whether statins interact with any other prescription or over-the-counter drugs or supplements you take.

Keep in mind that when you begin to take a statin

 

You'll most likely be on it for the rest of your life.

Side effects are often minor, but if you experience them, you may want to talk to your doctor or health care practitioner about decreasing your dose or trying a different statin.

Don't stop taking a statin without talking to your health care practitioner first.

If high cholesterol is your only risk factor, consider changing your lifestyle. There is no way to know the longterm effects of taking statins.