CNN Sanjay Gupta MD November 23, 2013 21:59:00
Think of it as the cleanup crew. statins are a type of medication. there are many different brands of this medication, but it basically interferes with the way cholesterol is made, absorbed and cleaned out of the body. if you interfere with that mechanism a bit, you can decrease someone's cholesterol and you can also increase the amount of cholesterol that is sort of wiped away from the blood vessels. statins can have some pretty significant side effects, not necessarily life threatening in some cases, but you can develop significant muscle problems. you can develop problems with your liver, b...