The charity adds: “If you take another type of statin, limit your intake of grapefruit juice to very small quantities or you may want to avoid it all together.”
The BHF says: “Statins target the liver cells where cholesterol is made. Before you start taking statins, you’ll have a blood test to check how well your liver works.
“Your doctor may request that you have a follow-up blood test a few months later. If your liver is affected, your doctor may want to reduce your dose or change your statin to another kind of medication that lowers your cholesterol.”
It says there are five types of statin available on prescription in the UK. They include atorvastatin, fluvastatin pravastatin, rosuvastatin and simvastatin.
The NHS recommends maintaining cholesterol levels below 5mmol/L. In the UK, however, three out of five adults have a total cholesterol of 5mmol/L or above, and the average cholesterol level is about 5.7mmol/L, which can be a risk factor in heart disease.