Statins and heart health

Statins are a drug currently prescribed to healthy people who are at high risk of heart disease, perhaps because of a family history of heart disease, or high cholesterol levels.

They can also help prevent further problems for people who have had a heart attack or stroke.

Statins lower cholesterol in your blood. High cholesterol can lead to fatty deposits building up in your arteries, which may lead to coronary heart disease.

As with any drug there is a risk of side effects, but with statins these are usually mild and easy to spot and treat.

The British Medical Journal recently published a paper which suggests statins could be useful for everyone, whether they have the symptoms of heart disease or not.

Our senior cardiac nurse, Cathy Ross, says that this may have implications on when doctors prescribe statins.

Have you had experience of statins? Please leave us a comment, or you can join us on Facebook and Twitter and share your experiences there.