Should You take a cholesterol lowering Statin drug, even if you don’t have high cholesterol?

Michael Rea, PharmD — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 16:00:02 +0000

Recently, the use of “statin” drugs, the class of medications used primarily to reduce cholesterol levels, have been gaining positive attention for some other desirable health outcomes. We have heard benefits on everything from increased lung function in asthma patients to lowering your chance for heart attack. This weeks article from Consumer Reports poses a good question, should you take a statin even if you don’t have high cholesterol? Read more below.

Earlier this year the Food and Drug Administration approved rosuvastatin (Crestor), a drug usually used to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, for use even in some people who have normal LDL levels. Why? Because it turns out that the drug (and probably other statins), also appear to lower levels of C-reactive protein, which can help indicate inflamed coronary arteries. And inflammation can contribute to heart disease by damaging the arteries and encouraging the growth of clot-forming plaque deposits.

So is it time to get your CRP measured and possibly take a statin if that level is high, even if your LDL isn’t? Probably not. Here’s why.

To read the full article from Consumer Reports, visit http://blogs.consumerreports.org/health/2010/06/statins-for-high-cholesterol-should-people-without-high-cholesterol-take-a-statin-best-buy-drugs.html

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Should You take a cholesterol lowering Statin drug, even if you don’t have high cholesterol?