Ask Us
Safety Alert: Simvastatin, Ezetimibe with Simvastatin
Statin Benefits Still Outweigh New Safety Information
What does this mean?
Although this study found a slightly increased risk of diabetes associated with statin therapy, this risk was greatly outweighed by the statins' ability to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and medical procedures to open up clogged arteries. These results reinforce the importance of staying on statin therapy if you have a moderate to high risk of heart disease.
That said, today's results also reinforce the importance of attending regular check-ups with your doctor and routinely screening for diabetes - whether you are taking a statin or not - particularly if you are older than 60 and experience symptoms such as unusual tiredness, frequent infections, excessive thirst or frequent urination.
If you have any questions about this information, please follow-up directly with your physician or pharmacist.
A study published today in the medical journal "The Lancet" has reported that statins, a class of medicine used to treat high cholesterol, may be associated with a slightly increased risk of developing diabetes. Researchers who conducted the study found an extra case of diabetes for every 255 patients treated with a statin after four years - a significant finding - but still substantially lower than the five cardiovascular events these statins were found to prevent in the same group.
Statins are a class of cholesterol-lowering medications that include atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol, Lescol XL, Luvinsta XL), pravastatin (Lipostat), rosuvastatin (Crestor), and simvastatin (Simvador, Zocor, Zocor Heart Pro). The combination product Inegy also includes simvastatin.
For more information, please visit:
