High cholesterol can increase your risk of vascular diseases. If it's discovered that you have raised cholesterol at your NHS Health Check, your GP or health professional may have offered you a course of a cholesterol medicine called statins.
Statins can be prescribed to help lower high cholesterol that's caused by lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity or a diet high in fat. They can also help in cases of familial high cholesterol, in which individuals inherit a gene from their parents that causes them to produce a lot of cholesterol.
In addition to statins, your GP or health professional may also have given you advice on the lifestyle steps you can take to help reduce your cholesterol, including eating a healthier diet and being more physically active.
How statins work
Cholesterol is produced by the liver. Statins work by making the liver reduce its production of cholesterol.
In particular, statins lower the production of a 'bad' cholesterol called low density lipoprotein (LDL). This is the kind of cholesterol which – if present in your blood at high levels – can stick to the inner walls of your arteries, causing the arteries to become partially blocked.
Learn more in Health A-Z: statins.
How to take statins
Follow the guidance your GP will have given you on how you should take your statins.
Some types of statins should be taken in the evening. This is because your liver makes most of the cholesterol in your body at night. But other types of statins can be taken at any time during the day.
Remember, your local pharmacist is also a trained expert in medicines, and can provide information and advice about your medicines, how to take them, and what to do if you have any side effects.
Statins should not be taken by women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Side effects
Statins are usually very well tolerated and most people don't have any side effects.
Around one in 100 people will have inflammation and damage to muscles after taking statins. Talk to your GP or pharmacist if you have any unexplained muscle tenderness, weakness or inflammation, or any other side effects that concern you.
Learn more in Health A-Z: statins side effects.
