Statins have become the miracle medicine of modern heart care, lowering cholesterol levels and and guarding against heart attacks in millions of Americans.
In fact, a running joke among doctors holds that statins are so helpful they should be put in the water supply.
...Drugs already used by millions to lower cholesterol might someday have a new role: Relieving asthma and COPD.
That's the hope of a new line of research underway at the University of California, Davis.
A study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health is seek...
In preliminary findings, Swedish researchers say taking a cholesterol-lowering statin could also slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
The study can't prove cause-and-effect, but might pave the way to a trial that could confirm such a link, said study author
Taking cholesterol-lowering statin medication after a bleeding stroke, or intracerebral hemorrhage, may lower the risk of a subsequent stroke caused by a blood clot, according to new research.
“Previous research has had mixed results on the risk of strok...
Elderly adults who start on a statin may see an even bigger drop in their "bad" cholesterol levels than their younger counterparts do, a new study suggests.
The study, of nearly 84,000 Danish patients, found that those age 75 and up typically showed a stronger response a...
In yet another example of inequities in U.S. health care, new research indicates that many women and minority men who need statins to protect their heart aren't getting them.
“The recommendation to use statins to treat and prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular d...
Heart disease is a high risk for people with HIV, but a new study finds that taking statins significantly reduces the risk of serious heart incidents.
People with HIV who took a daily statin pill lowered their risk of stroke, heart attack or surgery to open clogged arter...
As people with HIV live longer they're at risk of premature heart disease. But a new study finds statin drugs can cut the risk of serious heart problems by more than one-third.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health trial found the cholesterol-lowering drugs so effective...
Twenty percent of folks who are at high risk for heart disease refuse statins that could help prevent it, researchers report.
They found that women were about 20% more likely than men to decline statin drugs when they were first recommended and about 50% more likely to n...
Statins may do more than help your heart: New research shows the cholesterol-lowering drugs may also lower your risk for a bleeding stroke.
An intracerebral hemorrhage, which involves bleeding in the brain, comprises about 15% to 30% of strokes, according to the American...
Doctors give men and women different advice to head off heart disease, even though guidelines for both are the same.
Men were 20% more likely to be prescribed statins to lower blood levels of bad cholesterol compared with women, a new study found.
Women, meanwhile...
Cholesterol-lowering statins are proven lifesavers, but they've also gained a reputation for causing muscle aches and pains in a good number of patients.
That reputation is undes...
Millions of people taking statin drugs to lower their cholesterol may get an unanticipated benefit: They may be less likely to develop movement and balance problems like those seen in Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests.
The study looked at the relationship between...
Statins are proven to lower cholesterol, but they may also come with a downside for patients with diabetes: A new study finds they may make the blood sugar disease worse.
Researchers found that among those taking statins, 56% saw their diabetes progress, compared with 48...
Millions of people take statins to lower their cholesterol, and new research suggests these drugs may also ease ulcerative colitis.
Could cholesterol-lowering statins help lower your risk of dying from COVID-19?
For patients with a history of high blood pressure or heart disease, the answer appears to be yes. At least that's the conclusion of a new study that enlisted roughly 10,500 patients across 1...
The heart benefits of cholesterol-lowering statins in people without heart disease far exceed the risks of any side effects, a new review finds.
Statins are widely prescribed to people with heart disease, and recent guidelines recommend greater preventive use of the drug...
Certain cholesterol-lowering drugs might speed dementia in some older adults whose memories are starting to fail, a small, preliminary study suggests.
The researchers found that of 300 older adults with mildly impaired thinking and memory, those using "lipophilic" statin...
Living longer often means living with multiple health problems and numerous medications to manage them. Understandably, many doctors and their patients wonder if any of these drugs can be discontinued safely.
A new study from Italy suggests statins should not be culled f...
People taking statin drugs often complain of muscle aches, but a new study finds the medications are unlikely to be the culprit.
The results come from a trial involving patients who had quit taking their statins, or were considering quitting, due to muscle pain.
Th...
Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults are less likely to take cholesterol-lowering statins to prevent heart disease than heterosexual adults, even though they have a higher heart disease risk, according to a new study.
Researchers conducted an online survey of more tha...
Most of the side effects commonly blamed on cholesterol-lowering statins may actually be the product of patients' imaginations, new British research claims.
The finding follows a study of 60 patients who had been taking statins but stopped because of reported muscle ache...
Prescriptions of cholesterol-lowering statins for heart disease patients rose significantly when doctors were prompted to choose whether or not to order them, according to a new study.
It included 82 cardiologists and more than 11,000 patients. Doctors randomly recei...
Here's evidence that prescription drugs don't have to cost a fortune: New research finds Medicare saved billions as more generic cholesterol-lowering medications became available, even though the number of Americans using the drugs increased.
"One of the most importa...
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide take cholesterol-lowering drugs, like statins, but now a new review suggests that many folks don't benefit from these medications.
The researchers said the review of 35 randomized controlled trials failed to show a consistent...
Taking the statin Crestor in combination with the diabetes drug canagliflozin (Invokana) may have the potential to trigger statin toxicity, a new case report suggests.
Although this report details the problem in just one woman, the researchers noted concern because ...
Older adults with healthy hearts probably would benefit from taking a cholesterol-lowering statin, a new study contends.
People 75 and older who were free of heart disease and prescribed a statin wound up with a 25% lower risk of death from any cause and a 20% ...
Heart disease is on the rise among cancer patients and survivors, but they're less likely than people without cancer to be prescribed medicines to protect their heart, a new study finds.
Heart disease has become a leading cause of long-term preventable death in cance...
It's a myth that heart attacks are a "man's disease." Yet a new research review confirms that women remain less likely than men to get medications routinely recommended for preventing heart trouble and strokes.
Researchers found that across 43 international studies, ...
The number of American adults with high cholesterol dropped nearly 8 percentage points from 2000 to 2018, health officials reported Wednesday.
By 2018, just over 11%#37; of adults age 20 and over had high cholesterol, a major cause of heart disease, according to a ...
Cholesterol-lowering statins are commonly used to help prevent heart disease. Now a new study hints that they could shield women's hearts from the harms of certain breast cancer drugs.
The study focused on women in Canada who'd been treated with either chemotherapy d...
Drugs that many men with prostate cancer might already be taking -- cholesterol-lowering statins -- may help extend their survival if they have a "high-risk" form of the disease, new research suggests.
High-risk patients include men with high blood levels of prostate...
Some people let healthy habits fall by the wayside after they start medications for high cholesterol or high blood pressure, a new study finds.
Of more than 41,000 middle-aged Finnish adults researchers followed, those who started on cholesterol or blood pressure dru...
About 40 million adults in the U.S. take a statin to lower their cholesterol and reduce the risk for heart disease. They might also be getting an added anti-cancer benefit, a growing body of evidence suggests.
Scientists first began investigating a connection betwee...
Concerns that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs can impair brain health appear to be unfounded, according to new research.
"Statins won't make you stupid or cause memory loss," said lead researcher Dr. Katherine Samaras, a professor of medicine at St. Vincent's Cli...
Many people who take cholesterol-lowering statins may not benefit from them, researchers say.
Drugs like atorvastatin (Lipitor) and fluvastatin (Lescol) provide little value to people without heart disease, new research shows. Yet these heart-healthy folks represent...
When children with genetically high cholesterol are prescribed statins, it can drastically cut their risk of heart disease and death before the age of 40, a new study finds.
At issue is a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), an inherited genetic disor...
People with a history of stroke are less likely than those with heart disease to get cholesterol-lowering statin drugs despite the benefits, a new study has found.
Statins help protect the heart and brain by preventing artery plaques — buildups of cholesterol,...
Folks with peripheral artery disease (PAD) have a much lower risk of death if they take cholesterol-lowering statins as directed by their doctor, a new study reports.
About 200 million people worldwide suffer from PAD, a condition in which arteries feeding blood to the...
Women are less likely than men to be treated with cholesterol-lowering statins - or get them prescribed at guideline-recommended intensity levels when they do, according to a new study that also looked at reasons behind the discrepancies.
Statins help reduce the ris...
Heart attacks, strokes and other heart problems are more likely in high-risk patients denied access to cutting-edge cholesterol-busting drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors, a new study reports.
Patients are 16% more likely to have a heart-related health crisis if their P...
Radiation treatment for cancer can damage the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk for a stroke or heart attack. But a new study suggests cholesterol-lowering drugs can significantly reduce that risk.
The researchers reported that taking statins may lower the...
Imagine a procedure that filters "bad" LDL cholesterol from your bloodstream in a matter of hours.
The procedure, called LDL apheresis, works somewhat like kidney dialysis. Small amounts of blood are gradually removed from the body through an IV, then passed through ...
More than a quarter of people who could benefit from taking statins don't, and a new survey suggests that while not enough doctors are prescribing the cholesterol-lowering drugs, fears about side effects also play a part.
"There is so much misinformation about statin...
MONDAY, March 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who have high triglycerides and take cholesterol-lowering statins to lower their risk for heart attack or stroke can cut that risk by another 30 percent by adding a high-dose omega-3 fatty acid pill, investigators rep...
People who've already had a heart attack or stroke can cut their odds for another one in half if they regularly take cholesterol-lowering statins.
Yet new research found that only about 6 percent of patients take these drugs as prescribed by their doctor.
...
People whose high cholesterol is resistant to treatment with statin drugs may soon have a new treatment option.
This new class of drugs helps block synthesis of artery-clogging cholesterol, researchers explained. The drugs target an enzyme called ATP citrate lyase (ACL...
While effective at cutting heart risks, blood pressure and cholesterol drugs may not help preserve seniors' brain health, new research finds.
That conclusion came from the tracking of more than 1,600 men and women in 21 countries.
Over an average span of n...
Cholesterol-lowering statins are already known to help cut heart risks for seniors and the middle-aged. Now, research confirms the meds can also help people aged 75 and older.
"Statin therapy has been shown to prevent cardiovascular disease in a wide range of people...
A new study is raising the question of whether certain cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes drugs could help manage mental illnesses like schizophrenia.
The findings come from a study of over 142,000 Swedish patients with serious mental illnesses -- including sch...