Standard medicine-man clap-trap is to put anyone who is "at risk" on statins "to lower their cholesterol".
Statins can have very nasty side effects, particularly the high dose or "aggressive" treatments that doctors swear by these days.
Took my quacks 8 years to admit that many of my problems with muscle aches and muscle weakness was being caused by statins. Due mainly to statins I could no longer walk more than 100 yards without severe pain in leg muscles and joints, going up stairs was agony.
Finally an enlightened Dr agreed with me that perhaps the high dosage was inappropriate and reduced the prescription to a low dose variety. First effect noticed was that within 6 months my alleged high cholesterol dropped like a stone and for 3 years I have maintained a low cholesterol level .... no matter what I eat ~ another myth about eggs, cream etc put to bed. You can't eat your way to a high cholesterol count, you can eat your way to being fat and exces fat gets into the blood.
Note for the pedants: there is "Good" cholesterol as well as Bad!
Second effect of low dose statins .... massive reduction in aches and pains in muscles/joints but I'll prolly never regain the ability to walk any distance. I can, however, do more now than I could.
The short answer is to avoid the "wrong fats" in your diet, watch your carb intake (go for slow release carbs), exercise if possible, shed weight if possible. Take proper rest when you need to and avoid stress...... All this should reduce blood pressure which is much, much more likely to see you off than cholesterol.
The point is that statins are cheap and having been hailed as a wonder drug some years ago many doctors cannot see past the price and the bullsh*t. Recent research has suggested that actually statins do not have the long term benefits that have been claimed and in some cases do more harm than good.
