Statins are lipid lowering medicines.

They may be used to treat:

• Primary hypercholesterolemia - high blood cholesterol levels usually due to lifestyle factors such as a diet high in fat or not doing enough exercise.
• Familial hypercholesterolemia - high blood cholesterol levels due to inheriting a gene which means your liver makes lots of cholesterol.

They may also be used to reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke if you have:

• angina (chest pain) or have previously had a heart attack,
• transient ischaemic attacks (mini strokes) or have previously had a stroke,
• peripheral vascular disease (narrowing of blood vessels usually in the legs),
• diabetes, and are over 40 years of age, or
• diabetes, and are under 40 years of age but have other risk factors for developing heart disease such as poor blood sugar control, high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease in someone younger than 40 years old.