Statins lower cholesterol and protect against heart attack and stroke. But they may lead to side effects in some people.

Healthcare professionals often prescribe statins for people with high cholesterol. Statins help lower total cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Statins include atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol XL), lovastatin (Altoprev), pitavastatin (Livalo), pravastatin, rosuvastatin (Crestor), and simvastatin (Zocor).

The body needs cholesterol. But having too much cholesterol in the blood raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Statins block an enzyme the liver needs to make cholesterol. This causes the liver to remove cholesterol from the blood.

While statins are effective and safe for most people, they have been linked to muscle pain, digestive problems, and mental fuzziness in some people. Rarely, they may cause liver damage.

If you think your statins are causing side effects, don't just stop taking the pills. Talk to your healthcare team. A change in how much medicine you take or even a different type of medicine may help.