Myths and reality of statin therapy: answers to most pressing issues

I.V. Sergienko

National Medical Research Center of Cardiology, Moscow

Today, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality and disability worldwide. According to the WHO, mortality from CVD was 17.9 million (32% of all deaths worldwide) in 2019. According to the international and Russian guidelines, statins are the mainstay of medical treatment in high-risk patients and patients with established atherosclerotic CVD. Statins have numerous beneficial effects. However, in Russia and elsewhere, adherence to lipid-lowering therapy is low. These drugs receive unfounded criticism from the media and even some practitioners. The arguments against statin therapy include potential side effects. Since the efficacy and safety of these medications are clear, while the information on adverse effects is not mostly consistent with facts, we provide a scientific analysis of the efficacy and safety of lipid-lowering therapy, in particular, an original member of this class of drugs, atorvastatin.

Keywords: statins, cardiovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia, statin-associated muscle symptoms, cognitive disorders, safety.

For citation: Sergienko I.V. Myths and reality of statin therapy: answers to most pressing issues. RMJ. 2022;3:24–27.