Rhabdomyolysis from Statin Use

Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially dangerous side effect of statin use, and the most well known of statin side effects.

It is quite rare, but very serious, so it is one of the things to look out for when a patient starts using statins. Patients suffering from this side effect sometimes feel muscle pain or tenderness and may feel weaker. The breakdown of muscle is actually manifest in the patient’s urine, which is often visibly a different color – darker. Even if the breakdown products, called casts, are at low levels, a chemical analysis of the urine can identify them. Analysis of the urine and blood will show high levels of the muscle protein myoglobin in patients with this condition.

Other drugs taken in conjunction with statins can increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis, so it is important that your doctor know exactly what medications you are on. These include niacin, which some people with high cholesterol take as a supplement and which with statins can increase the risk.

Quitting the statin use usually stops rhabdomyolysis in its tracks and leads to full recovery.

The statin Baycol (cerivastatin) was removed from the market in 2002 because people on it were getting rhabdomyolysis. Only a small percentage of patients who took Baycol suffered rhabdomyolysis, but the FDA and the manufacturer (Bayer) felt it was too many to take any further risks. This was the largest rhabdomyolysis scare, but it remains a possibility for a very small percentage of people taking the other statins. If you have any symptoms, consult your doctor immediately because this is a bad condition. It may require action to save the kidneys, which can be damaged.

Rhabdomyolysis also is caused by injuries where parts of the body are crushed under large weights, and occasionally by insect bites. Myopathy (muscle weakness) is a more common side effect of statin medications (and indeed of many medications and diseases), and rhabdomyolysis is essentially a more severe form of myopathy.

More on this condition from the National Institutes of Health.

Statins and Aching Muscles