Statin Hepatotoxicity: Is it a Real Concern?

Statins are the most effective and widely used drugs for treating dyslipidemia, a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. These are one of the safest hypolipidemic drugs but many patients are advised to discontinue statins for the fear of hepatotoxicity. Despite a lack of evidence that statins cause liver diseases, many physicians are reluctant to start statins in patients with an out-of-range liver enzymes value and this reluctance to initiate or interrupt the therapy with statins leads to dyslipidemia and its grave consequences. Further, there are some reports showing an additional benefit of statins in reducing cardiovascular events in patients with abnormal liver function tests.