Statins – your questions answered

How will taking a statin help me?

Statins are preventative medicines that help lower cholesterol levels in your blood and reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as:

• coronary heart disease
• angina (chest pain and discomfort)
• heart attack
• stroke.

This means you take them even if you feel healthy. You can think about them as something that protects your health like choosing not to smoke or wearing a seatbelt in case of a road-traffic accident.

You’ll likely be prescribed a statin if you have a high risk of having a heart attack or stroke, or you’ve already had one.  

Are statins safe?

Statins are one of the most researched drugs, and there’s lots of evidence to show that they work and can be helpful to people with high cholesterol.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which provides guidelines and recommendations to the NHS, regularly reviews the effectiveness and safety of statins.

Their most recent clinical guidance based on an evidence review published in 2023 included 52 different randomised trials.

It found that statins are effective at preventing and managing cardiovascular disease, and the risk of adverse events like muscle pain is low.

It’s important to find information that’s evidence-based and from a trusted source, such as the NHS and British Heart Foundation (BHF).

If you're unsure, speak to your doctor and they can discuss it with you.

• Read more about BHF-funded research into statins.

Do statins have side effects?

Like all medicines, statins can have side effects (see below), but most people will not experience side effects from them.

Some people will report having symptoms when they’re taking statins. However, new research suggests that statins but might not be responsible.

Research published in The Lancet in 2026 shows this could be the case for dozens of commonly reported symptoms for statins.

The BHF-funded study found 62 out of 66 symptoms listed on statins’ patient information leaflets were just as common in people taking a dummy pill as those taking a statin.

These included weight gain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, erectile dysfunction and memory loss. The only 4 symptoms thought to be caused by statins were:

• 2 different types of unusual liver blood-test results (but not liver disease)
• changes in the composition of urine
• swelling caused by fluid build-up in the body (oedema).

The results were based on a review of 23 trials that included 150,000 people who were either taking a statin or a dummy pill for an average of 4.5 to 5 years. During the trials, neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was taking the statin and who was taking the dummy pill.

• Learn more about The Lancet research.

The findings suggest many symptoms people believe are caused by their statin maybe a trick of the mind, meaning they may believe they’re experiencing them, because they’ve read or heard about a side effect before taking the statin.

This trick of the mind is a well-known psychological effect of medical treatment called the ‘nocebo effect’.

It’s the opposite of the ‘placebo effect’, which is when people believe they feel better after taking a dummy pill that they think is a real medicine.

• Learn more about the nocebo effect in statins.

If you’ve started taking statins recently, it’s also worth bearing in mind that symptoms with any new medicine often improve over time or even disappear. It can take 6 weeks for initial symptoms to statins to resolve.

If your symptoms continue your doctor will discuss your options with you. They may change your stain dose, change the type of statin, or prescribe another cholesterol-lowering medicine to help lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.

The decision to stop taking a statin is an important one, and it’s essential to talk to your doctor before doing so. 

Do statins cause muscle pain?

Muscle pain, weakness or tenderness is an uncommon symptom in people taking statins. These symptoms are known as statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS).

Research shows that muscle pain and weakness affect just a small number of people taking statins, causing about 11 extra reports of muscle pain and weakness among 1,000 people in their first year of taking statins.

A study in The Lancet in 2022 found that less than 10 per cent of cases of mild muscle pain or weakness reported by people taking statins were actually caused by their statin.

People on statins can also rarely develop a muscle condition called myopathy that means your statin needs to be stopped, and very rarely a muscle condition called rhabdomyolysis that requires urgent specialist medical care.

Regardless of the cause, muscle pain and weakness can impact your daily life, so it’s important to tell your doctor if you experience it. They will investigate and help you manage any pain with advice on pain relief, exercise and self-care.

These tips can help you manage mild muscle pain:

• Take a painkiller, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen – ask your pharmacist if you can take it with your other medicines.
• Ask your doctor to refer you to a physiotherapist.
• Gently stretch your muscles regularly.
• Have a warm bath with bath salts to soothe your muscles.
• Alternate between putting ice packs and a warm water bottle on the affected area.

Do statins cause weight gain?

It’s important to maintain a healthy weight while taking a statin as this also helps to lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Some research has linked some statins to a small amount of weight gain, but it’s not clear if the weight gain is caused by the drug itself or other factors like eating a less healthy diet.

The previously discussed 2026 study of statin symptoms in The Lancet found that weight gain was just as likely in people taking a dummy pill as in those taking the real medicine.

It’s also worth remembering that the health benefits of taking a statin far outweigh this potential side effect.

• Find helpful tips on taking control of your weight.

Do statins make you feel tired?

Some people report feeling tired when they’re taking a statin but there’s little scientific evidence to show that statins affect sleep or cause insomnia.

• Read more about statins and sleep.

Do statins cause erectile dysfunction?

On some patient information leaflets that come with statins, a reduced sex drive (loss of libido) or erectile dysfunction is listed as an uncommon side effect.

Research into whether statins are linked to persistent problems with getting, or maintaining, an erection (erectile dysfunction) has varied findings.

Some research has found that some types of statin may cause a reduction in testosterone, which is a known risk factor for erectile dysfunction.

But other studies suggest statins could actually help improve erectile dysfunction in men who already have the condition.

Erectile dysfunction was one of the symptoms not found to be caused by statins in the 2026 review in The Lancet.

The bottom line is that more robust research is needed to determine how statins interact with human sex hormones.

Are there other known side effects from statins?

Research has shown that statins can cause diabetes in those who did not have the condition before. This is because they can lead to a small increase in blood sugar (glucose) levels which means those who were already at high risk of diabetes may develop the conditions sooner.

Some research also found people on statins may rarely experience a stroke due to bleeding.

But the researchers said the benefits of taking stains in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke from a blood clot (ischaemic) outweighed this risk.

What’s considered a ‘high dose’ or ‘low dose’ statin?

Five statins are available on prescription in the UK:

• fluvastatin (Lescol)
• pravastatin (Lipostat)
• simvastatin (Zocor)
• atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• rosuvastatin (Crestor).

Statins work at different doses, and some may be stronger than others even at the same dose. For example, 10mg of atorvastatin has a stronger cholesterol-lowering effect than 10mg of simvastatin.

Doctors refer to statins as high intensity, medium intensity and low intensity in relation to how much it lowers bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol):

• High-intensity: lowers bad cholesterol by 50 per cent or more.
• Moderate-intensity: lowers bad cholesterol by 30 to 49 per cent.
• Low-intensity: lowers bad cholesterol by less than 30 per cent.

The table below shows the intensity (%) of each statin at various doses:

Your doctor will prescribe you the appropriate statin at the dose they think will be most beneficial for you. If a certain statin does not work for you, they will work with you to find one that does.

Taking a statin alongside another cholesterol-lowering medicine, such as ezetimibe, can also lead to a larger reduction in cholesterol levels.

You might also hear about ‘low dose statins’ you can buy over the counter, meaning you do not need a prescription.

However, it’s important to talk to a doctor or pharmacist before taking a statin so they can check if it’s suitable for you and to see if you need regular check-ups.

How high should cholesterol be before taking statins?

If your cholesterol levels are too high, it can increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

According to NICE guidelines, your doctor should offer you a statin if you have a 10 per cent or higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years.

Your doctor will work out your risk of cardiovascular disease with an online calculator called QRISK. This takes lots of different risk factors into account, including your blood pressure, age, family history and existing medical conditions, as well as your cholesterol levels.

In most cases your cholesterol will be checked before you start taking a statin. However, if your overall risk of heart attack and stroke is high, a statin may be recommended without a cholesterol check.

This is because a statin can reduce your chance of heart attack and stroke regardless of your cholesterol levels.

If you’ve had a heart attack and you’re not already taking a statin, you will likely be given one when you’re admitted to hospital. This will help reduce your risk of having another heart attack.

• Read more about understanding your cholesterol levels.

Can I stop taking statins once my cholesterol is lower?

Most people prescribed a statin will take it for life. This is because statins reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease over your lifetime.

As you get older, their benefit only increases because your chance of having a heart attack or stroke increases with age.

You should continue taking a statin even when your cholesterol levels are lower, as they will usually go up again when you stop taking it.

What time of day should I take my statin?

Your doctor may tell you to take your statin at night, because some work better at this time. These include:

• simvastatin
• fluvastatin
• pravastatin.

But atorvastatin and rosuvastatin can be taken any time that works for you.

Taking your statin as part of your everyday routine means you may be more likely to remember to take it. For example, you could take it:

• at the same time as other medicines
• when you’re getting ready for bed
• after brushing your teeth.

Read more from a pharmacist on when to take different medicines.

Can I drink alcohol while taking statins?

Most people can continue drinking alcohol while taking a statin if they chose to. But regularly drinking a large amount while taking a statin can increase your risk of the medicines’ side effects and liver problems.

Excess alcohol can also damage your heart muscle and raise your risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and stroke.

Making healthy lifestyle changes alongside taking a statin, including limiting how much alcohol you drink, can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular issues.

The NHS recommends having less than 14 units of alcohol per week. That’s around 6 pints of average strength beer or 6 medium (175ml) glasses of average strength wine.

Can I have grapefruit while taking statins?

Your doctor or nurse may have told you to avoid eating and drinking grapefruit while taking certain statins.

This is because it can increase the amount of statin in your blood, which can increase the risk of side effects.

There is specific advice for:

• Simvastatin - do not eat or drink grapefruit.
• Atorvastatin - you can have grapefruit and grapefruit juice occasionally but not in large quantities.

Grapefruit is not thought to be a problem with other types of statin.

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