Twenty five years of research has proven that cholesterol-lowering statin pills pose no risk to health, according to top doctors.

Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Bristol George Davey Smith confirms that years of research have provided definitive and clear evidence to support the use of statin drugs saying, "The jury is no longer out on a cost/benefit ratio."

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Joining Professor Smith in backing up the heart pills are John Deanfield, the British Heart Foundation professor of cardiology at University College London; Professor Liam Smeeth, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Adam Timmis, professor of clinical ­cardiology at Barts and the London NHS Trust and ­Professor Peter Weissberg, ­medical director of the ­British Heart Foundation.

Statins have been mired in controversy after scare stories about the dangers of taking them were publicized and supported by misleading claims published in the respected British Medical Journal which over estimated its side effects 20-fold. These statements were later retracted.

In response, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued a safety update reassuring patients that statin drugs were safe.

Most common side effects include headache, difficulty sleeping, flushing of the skin, muscle aches and tenderness, drowsiness, and abdominal cramping or pain.

However, Professor Ray Collins, head of Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University stated that such side effect claims could put off high-risk patients from taking their 'life-saving medication' adding that "The benefits outweigh the risks. The evidence is substantial that the treatment is safe but it remains a choice, but one can only make if they are not misinformed."

Also, according to Professor Collins it was common for older people taking statins to experience aches and pains and that trials have proven that these were just as common in those not taking the drugs.

Tagsstatin, heart attack, cholesterol, approval