Key Points:
- Dr. Malhotra says that 20% to 50% of patients who take statins experience side effects like muscle fatigue, brain fog, or erectile dysfunction.
- He also calls into question whether the trade-off between the risk for these side effects and the effectiveness of statins to ward off heart disease warrants widespread prescribing.
- Contrary to conventional medical opinion, Dr. Malhotra relays data suggesting that lowering blood cholesterol with statins is associated with only slightly reduced mortality for patients with heart disease.
Dr. Aseem Malhotra, an esteemed cardiologist from the UK, is a vocal critic of many mainstream ideas concerning cardiovascular health and disease and the widespread use of statins to lower blood cholesterol. In a podcast interview with Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Malhotra discusses what he sees as the overprescription of statins and how these medications’ effects may be matched with lifestyle interventions like diet and exercise. Along these lines, Dr. Malhotra does not say that statins are bad but has called into question their widespread use given their risks for side effects.
A Lawsuit Against the Daily Mail on Sunday
At the beginning of the interview, Dr. Hyman brings up a lawsuit filed by two of Dr. Malhotra’s colleagues against the publisher of the Daily Mail on Sunday, Associated Newspapers Limited. The lawsuit arose due to a series of articles the Mail on Sunday published in March 2019 that were part of a campaign called “Fight Fake Health News.” In these articles, so-called statin deniers like Dr. Malhotra were accused of spreading misinformation against statins, which the Daily Mail on Sunday referred to as “deadly propaganda.” The newspaper’s articles also accused Dr. Malhotra and his colleagues of giving advice that caused people to avoid taking statins, which the Daily Mail on Sunday saw as a big public health risk.
“There is a special place in hell for doctors who say statins don’t work,” wrote journalist Barney Calman who works for Associated Newspapers Limited.
In response to these articles, Dr. Malhotra’s colleagues filed a defamation lawsuit in the UK, arguing that these articles falsely portrayed doctors advising against the overuse of statins as deliberately lying about statins. The High Court in Britain has seen multiple legal arguments regarding this case, but in 2024, the case was ruled in favor of Dr. Malhotra’s colleagues against the newspaper. In that sense, Dr. Malhotra and his colleagues have been in some ways vindicated regarding their concerns about flawed data on statins and what he sees as their overemphasized use.
Some of the fallout from this case included Dr. Malhotra losing his position at the National Health Service (NHS) in England. Moreover, even with his purported impeccable track record as a cardiologist, he has not been able to regain a position at the NHS since.
Dr. Malhotra Believes Commercial Interests Distort Scientific Data On Statins
From Dr. Malhotra’s perspective, inherent bias exists in medicine due to money. Following where research funding comes from may help to uncover any inherent bias.
As for where the research funding comes from, an estimated 200 million to 1 billion people are prescribed statins worldwide, and the statins market is projected to be worth $22 billion by 2032. As such, pharmaceutical companies that sell statins fund research on their products, which may lead to inherent bias on the efficacy of statins against heart disease.
Dr. Malhotra and his colleagues received backlash from the Daily Mail on Sunday and other cardiologists based on their criticism of the overprescription of statins and the lack of access to raw data from statins research. Dr. Malhotra’s and his colleagues’ advocacy for a reevaluation of widespread statins usage went on for about a decade before the lawsuit, according to Dr. Malhotra. As such, Dr. Malhotra views the flack he has received from The Daily Mail on Sunday and the NHS as coming from his position that runs counter to that of the drug industry.
Furthermore, Dr. Malhotra sees the overprescription of statins as a result of biased and corrupted information influenced by drug companies whose research exaggerates the safety and benefits of these drugs. This situation exists, according to Dr. Malhotra, because the pharmaceutical industry wants to get as many people as possible to take their drugs for profit. In other words, the only interest of the pharmaceutical companies is profit—not to give the best treatment.
“Medical knowledge is under commercial control, but most doctors don’t know that,” said Dr. Malhotra.
Data Calling the Benefits of Statins Into Question
To back his advocacy against the overemphasis on statins, Dr. Malhotra brought up a study in his interview with the British Medical Journal. The study looked at whether having more people taking statins in Europe over 10 years led to a reduction in mortality from cardiovascular problems. The study found no reduction in mortality from cardiovascular problems, even with widespread statin use.
Dr. Malhotra also brought up another study of life expectancy in people who have had a heart attack, which found that statins increased average lifespan by only an extra four days. For people who have never had a heart attack, statin use was associated with no effect on lifespan. These findings suggest that statins have minimal effects, if any, on extending human lifespan. This information also runs contrary to the widespread notion that statin usage is associated with a prolonged life in those with and without cardiovascular problems.
Aside from the effects of statins on lifespan, Dr. Malhotra questions the conventional medical perspective on cholesterol, which statins are prescribed to lower. He thinks we are obsessed with lowering LDL cholesterol (the harmful type); however, he says that LDL cholesterol may not be so damaging and may play a role in facilitating immunity. Interestingly, in an analysis Dr. Malhotra ran of multiple studies, he found that high LDL played no role in cardiovascular disease risk. Dr. Malhotra also says some data suggests that higher LDL cholesterol levels in people over 60 were associated with a longer life. Moreover, Dr. Malhotra mentioned data suggesting that lower LDL cholesterol levels have been associated with a higher risk of cancer, suggesting a reduced immune response in those with lower LDL cholesterol. These data, according to Dr. Malhotra, support the notion that the conventional medical opinion regarding LDL cholesterol may be flawed.
20% to 50% of Patients Who Take Statins Experience Side Effects
Another reason Dr. Malhotra says patients with high cholesterol should take a closer look and question their usage of statins is that 20% to 50% of statin users experience side effects. Such side effects can range from brain fog to muscle injury or erectile dysfunction. Due to side effects from statins, Dr. Malhatra relayed other ways that may be more effective at managing cardiovascular risk factors, such as lifestyle interventions. Such lifestyle interventions may encompass altering one’s diet to include only whole, unprocessed foods and exercising regularly.
Dr. Malhotra’s Criticism of the Overprescription of Statins May Inspire Better Treatment Options for Heart Disease
Dr. Malhotra’s concerns regarding what he sees as an overemphasis on statins have clearly received backlash as the stories from 2019 in the Daily Mail on Sunday exemplify. From his perspective, this is due to a big pharmaceutical-backed corporatization of data interpretation on the efficacy of statins against heart disease.
If Dr. Malhotra does indeed seek the truth about statins as he says, his perspective may serve to inspire researchers and clinicians to take a closer look at the data. If statins do not confer a longer lifespan and if they do cause side effects that inhibit the quality of life in 20% to 50% of those who take them, perhaps calling into question their overprescription is warranted.
“We’re all going to die at some point,” lamented Dr. Malhotra. “We want to live our lives in the best health we can for as long as possible.”
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