Caffeine and statins
I have recently started taking statins (20mg atorvastatin) because my cholesterol is very high (7.5) and I have read that caffeine may stop it from working properly.
Is this widely accepted or merely a theory?
Does it prevent them from lowering LDL or only prevent the other cardioprotective effects (preventing/repairing lesions etc.).
I have reduced caffeine intake to a minimum but I am wondering if I now have to say goodbye to it.
HI.
That is a great question that you pose here. As I research this topic I do see a few studies that discuss the links between statins and caffeine. And some of these do suggest that caffeine may interfere with the absorption of certain statins. Although, the same studies also note that this link is not conclusive, indicating that more studies are needed to verify if this is indeed something to be concerned about. I would be curious to hear what a doctor would have to say on this topic. Perhaps this would be a great question to pose to your doctor What do you think? john. community moderator Thanks John, I do have an appointment with a cardiologist on Friday so I'll definitely feed back what he says. I suspect he'll be noncommittal so I'll probably have to use my own judgement
Thank you for the update. You may be right about your doctor being noncommittal. Considering you have already cut back your caffeine intake pretty much already -- and especially if you enjoy your caffeine, your doctor may leave the choice up to you. At the very least, it will be neat hearing from you about what your doctor has to say on this interesting topic. Good luck on your upcoming appointment. I look forward to your feedback. All the best. John. community moderator.
Hello and welcome to our community. I'm not sure of the correlation between caffeine and statins and I am not seeing any information about it on this site. I am linking a couple of articles written by members of the community. Hope they help! -Olivia. https://heart-failure.net/clinical/statins Thanks Olivia
