HEALTH TECH
SHIV GAGLANI
Streamlining Statin
Intolerance Information
The ACC’s Statin Intolerance App
W
e previously had the opportunity to
review two clinical decision support apps
released by the American College of Cardiology: The Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease
(ASCVD) Risk Estimator, and the Clinical Guidelines
app. Building upon the success of these apps, the ACC
recently released an app dedicated to helping clinicians evaluate statin intolerance.
A recent article in Circulation1 explains that statin
intolerance occurs when “a patient is unable to continue to use a statin, either because the development
of a side effect or because of evidence on a blood test
that certain markers of liver function or muscle function (creatinine kinase) are sufficiently abnormal to
cause concern. The intolerance can be either partial
(i.e., only some statins at some doses) or complete
(i.e., all statins at any dose).” Myalgias are the most
common presenting symptom of statin intolerance,
and can occur in up to 15% of treated patients.
While these are generally mild and reversible upon
cessation of statin therapy, in extremely rare ca ͕̰)