What are the misconceptions surrounding statins?
Dr Ravi Assomull dispels common myths about statins, including concerns about memory loss and widespread side effects. He explains the nocebo effect, where the expectation of side effects can lead to reported symptoms, and reassures viewers that statins are generally well tolerated at modest doses. He also emphasizes that alternative treatments are available if side effects occur.
Learn more about High cholesterol or book a consultation with Dr Assomull – no GP referral needed, appointments typically within one working day.
Transcript
Well many people worry about side effects but curiously actually very few people get side effects. There's a lot of talk of a lot of myths about things like dementia, loss of memory, these are simply not true and lots of clinical data has proven that to be the case. There are side effects related to muscle cramps but these typically tend to be at high doses of statins and most of the doses we actually prescribe in our clinic are very much at the modest level.
What's become clear is a curious phenomenon known as the nocebo effect where we have observed that people who are prescribed statins almost feel that they're going to get the effects and this is best seen in clinical trials where patients are given a statin not known that they were given a statin are absolutely fine on it and only at the end of the trial when they were told they were they had a statin about 20 to 30 percent of these patients will suddenly develop statin-like side effects. So we only prescribe statins here if we believe you benefit from it and we can assure you that your risk of side effects are low and should you develop any side effects then there are alternatives that we can discuss.
