Muscle problems caused by statins: Can a genetic test reveal your risk?

In the United States, more than 40% of people ages 60 and older take a cholesterol-lowering statin to reduce their risk of a heart attack. But up to half of people who are prescribed these drugs quit taking them because they experience what they believe to be statin-related side effects — most often muscle pain. Others avoid statins altogether because of that worry. That’s why many people might be curious about a mail-order genetic test called StatinSmart, which bills itself as the first test to identify a person’s risk of experiencing muscle pain from a statin. But here’s the rub: muscle problems can range from mild to serious, and the terms experts use to describe them can be confusing. The StatinSmart website says 29% of people who take a statin develop “statin-induced myopathy,” which they define as muscle aches, pains, weakness, or cramps. “That seems like a gross overestimate of the symptoms that are actually caused by statins,” says Dr. Kiran Musunuru, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He and other doctors concur that some people who take statins develop debilitating aches and pains that then go away once they stop taking the drug. But those people represent just a small percentage of statin users. Among the 60-plus crowd, who are the most likely to be prescribed a statin, muscle-related symptoms are fairly common and have many causes, including strenuous exercise, infections, or other health problems. Serious but rare In the st...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Drugs and Supplements Genes Health Heart Health muscles statins Source Type: news