I recently (1st January) started taking Atorvastatin for high cholesterol. I was reluctant to start these but after reading that they can reduce ectopic beats, agreed to them.
However, I feel like my ectopic beats have increased in frequency since starting them. Also, I constantly feel fuzzy headed, like my head is going to pop.
Has anyone experienced anything similar on Atorvastatin?
If you believe you are experiencing side effects from taking any medication that is affecting your quality of life, or worse a serious health impact, you should discuss with the health professional who is responsible for your care, in this case your GP or cardiologist.
Definitely discuss with your pharmacist who will follow it up. I am on the same medication and suffered side effects however these have now settled down and my cholesterol levels good.
I am sure Chiphill will consult her doctor if needed, she was merely asking if others had experienced her reaction, just a bit of emotional support from Health`unlocked.
This might sound a bit harsh but most of us who are now on statins have been there. The consequences of high cholesterol can take years to come to the fore. No one likes to take a drug for the rest of their life when they feel absolutely fine without one.
From your post, you say that you have high cholesterol. This needs to be treated to reduce your future risk of heart attack or stroke. Atorvastatin is the NHS drug of choice but like all drugs it has side effects. For example, both my wife and I are now on Rosuvastatin. In my wife’s case, she has paroxysmal AF and is on an anti-coagulant. One of the known side effects of Atorvastatin is bleeding.
My wife also has a high ectopic beat burden. A 14 day holter monitor revealed that she had thousands of ectopic beats during the recording period. It has never been suggested to her that Atorvastatin could reduce that burden by her GP or private cardiologist.
Physicians will always say that you are free to disregard their advice re any treatment plan. However, you need to calmly sit down and ask yourself whether you are just looking for an excuse to come off statins. I have been there and, with my GP’s approval, I stopped taking my statin for a month to eliminate statin use as a cause of some muscle weakness in my legs. Nothing changed, so I concluded that I was better off being back on a statin.
If your ectopic beat burden is increasing then this is something that you should certainly discuss with your GP. He/she will, in my experience, happily agree to a change of statin. There are reams of clinical evidence to show that statins do save lives.
hello Chiphill, I to have started atorvastatin (January) my Qrisk had crept over the 10% threshold so had to start the statins I think we have to try them and if over a period of time you find there not suitable there are alternatives, a friend of mine has familial high cholesterol so has to be on a statin this took some time for her as she did struggle with various statins, but eventually now has it in injection form which works great for her, there is always an alternative - unfortunately think my ectopics are just as bad now as they were before I started the treatment so I’ve nothing I’m afraid to compare but hope it’s resolved for you soon one way or another take care😊
Would recommend that you talk to the doctor about whether you can try a different statin if you think you are getting side effects? ectopics are generally harmless just upsetting if you can feel them but ifyour ectopic load is really high doctors may sometimes consider ablations. I was put on biospropol a beta blocker ( which calms the heart and can reduce ectopics) for the ectopics and eventually had an ablation which my Kardia does now suggest has worked. Have also never heard of statins being used to treat ectopics just to lower cholesterol Am also now on a statin and that has lowered the cholesterol. Hope that you get things sorted out anything to do with the heart can be very worrying best wishes
Have been on Atorvastin from the very start.
You could try and change your statin brand, Atorvastatin is often the Statin that gives people side effects.Ask your GP if you can swap to Rosuvastatin, which is recommended as having less side effects by patients with many different health issues,
Tell them it's because you are getting those symptoms and it is putting you off them so you are happy to continue but on a statin that you know is well tolerated by other cardiac health patients.
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On the assumption that you were referring to me, I thank you for your 'vote of confidence' in nominating me a 'resident busy body'. As you have only been on here for a few weeks, and clearly have not yet absorbed how this community works, whatever your adverse opinion of another member, it is inappropriate to share that with other members. It's not Facebook or other forms of social media where apparently anything goes. To quote from the Guideline which govern this community 'Be kind, respectful & inclusive of one another. Consider how your language or conduct might make others feel'. So although I have formed my opinion of your comment, and contribution, I'll wind my neck in, and respectfully suggest you do the same.
To quote your quote taken from the guidelines "Consider how your language or conduct might make others feel."
I'll ask you respectfully,
how do you think others might feel who are new to this forum,
who are no-doubt very worried about their own, or a loved ones health, who come here looking for advice from others,
after you've been the first to respond to them with a comment similar to the one you've typed above?
The thick skinned will hopefully ignore you, but those who are truly in need of support, emotional or otherwise who are not as thick skinned, might very well be put off asking for help & advice again.
There are many vulnerable lonely people living amongst us who need to interact with others, who I'm certain as adults are well aware of when they should or shouldn't contact their GP Surgeries.
I have no problem with offering the advice I have given above and similarly elsewhere. I have been doing that for some time on here, and will continue to do so. In this case it is a pragmatic approach offered in good faith and under the circumstances will deliver the best outcome in my view. Whether the poster chooses to follow it or not is entirely down to them. If others wish to offer other alternative suggestions they believe will be of help that is what we are all here for. However if someone asks a question and they are clearly under some sort of emotional burden I will either modify my answer or choose not to respond, as others will do. We are all here to support people as we see fit and the assumption that everyone who posts is in a vulnerable position, is in my view erroneous. You clearly believe differently. But what has irritated me today is someone can feel at liberty to post something slightly unpleasant about me, which might be hurtful to me if I wasnt thick skinned as you put it, but when I remind them of their responsibilities on here, it's me that is 'attacking' them. How would it have been if I had not been in a good place at the outset. You couldn't make it up.
The poster has clearly asked a question, it doesn't matter if it's emotionaly charged or not because it should be obvious that a question requires answers/replies from others who have experienced similar. It is clearly seen at the end of her post that you chose to ignore which contradicts your statement, & I quote;
"However if someone asks a question and they are clearly under some sort of emotional burden, I will either modify my answer or choose not to respond."
Sudden Onset Ectopic beats
Ectopic heart beats 
Ablation for Ectopic Beats
Ectopic Beats
