https://www.mdlinx.com/internal-medicine/medical-news-article/2017/07/26/statins-heart-attack-stroke-side-effects-death-annals-of-internal-medicine/7261188/?category=last-month&page_id=1
Reuters Health News | July 26, 2017
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – Stopping a statin because of
a muscle ache or stomach pain can be dangerous in the long run,
suggests a new study. Researchers found that people who stopped taking
statins after reporting a side effect were 13% more likely to die or
have a heart attack or stroke over the next four years than people who
kept taking the drugs. Despite the overwhelming evidence in favor of
statins, a quarter to a half of patients stop taking the drugs within 6
months to a year, Dr. Alexander Turchin, of Brigham and Women's Hospital
in Boston, and colleagues wrote July 24 online in Annals of Internal Medicine.
To see whether people who continue taking statins, including those who
switch to a different type or a lower dose, end up with better outcomes
than people who stop taking the drugs, the researchers analyzed data
drawn from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's
between 2000 and 2011. During that period, more than 200,000 adults were
treated with statins. Nearly 45,000 of them reported a side effect they
thought might be related to the medication. From those 45,000 with
possible side effects, the research team focused on 28,266 people. Most
of them – 19,989 individuals – kept taking statins anyway, with 44% of
those continuing to take the same drug. Roughly four years after the
side effects were reported, 3,677 patients had died or suffered a heart
attack or stroke. Among those who continued to take their statins, 12.2%
fell into that group, compared with 13.9% of those who stopped statins
after a possible side effect. Overall, the researchers found that people
who stopped taking statins after a possible side effect were 13% more
likely to die or have heart attack or stroke during the study period
than people who kept taking their medicine. The new findings expand on
previous studies showing people benefit when they continue to take their
statins, said Dr. Robert Rosenson, a professor of cardiology at the
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Rosenson, who
was not involved with the new study, said patients should be encouraged
to tell their doctors about any possible side effects from statins, and
they should understand that there may be other options, including a
lower dose or a different drug. In an editorial, Dr. Steven Nissen of
the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio writes that some people may steer clear of
statins due to misinformation published online or promoted in fad diets.
"We must work together to educate the public and enlist media support,
and we must take the time to explain to our patients that discontinuing
statin treatment may be a life–threatening mistake," he writes.
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