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Dangers of Cholesterol Drugs

When a doctor diagnoses a patient with high cholesterol, he is also saying that the patient is at risk for coronary artery disease. The aim then becomes to get cholesterol numbers down into the normal range. While changes in diet and beginning an exercise program can help, a doctor may also prescribe a cholesterol-lowering medication. While medications can do this, they can also cause other problems.

  1. What Drugs Are Prescribed?

    • Doctors will prescribe statins to lower a patient's cholesterol. There are a number of brand names for these statins, including Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin) and Pravachol (pravastatin).

    How Cholesterol Is Made

    • You ingest cholesterol when you eat animal-source foods, but your body also produces it. Cholesterol is produced in the liver, which makes 700 to 1,200 mg per day. Smaller amounts are also produced in the intestines and body cells. The liver breaks down acetyl-CoA and then converts the acetyl into different types of carbon molecules until it becomes cholesterol. The steps are: acetyl-CoA to mevalonate to isopentenyl pyrophosphate to squalene to cholesterol. Your body is able to produce all of the cholesterol it needs to function. When your cholesterol level is tested, 85 percent of the measurement is actually from cholesterol your body has produced.

    How Statins Work

    • Statin drugs inhibit acetyl-CoA production, which in turn inhibits the production of cholesterol. However, ubiquinone and dilochol are produced through the same process as cholesterol, so statins inhibit their production as well. Ubiquinone is a cellular nutrient used in the mitochondria. It is the body's main respiratory enzyme and is used in the heart and other organs. Dolichols aids in protein manufacturing.

    Muscle Pain and Weakness

    • Muscle pains and muscle weakness are the most common side effects from statins. The condition is called rhabdomyolysis, believed to be caused by a lowering of ubiquinone, which helps muscle function. Active people appear more likely to develop this problem than those who are sedentary.

    Neuropathy

    • Peripheral neuropathy is weakness, tingling and pain in the hands and feet that can cause difficulty walking. Taking statins for one year can raise the probability of developing neuropathy by 15 percent and by 26 percent after two years. The damage can be irreversible.

    Other Issues

    • There are other conditions that statins can cause, such as heart failure, dizziness, cognitive impairment, cancer, pancreatic rot and depression.

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