What are statins?

While best known as drugs that lower cholesterol, statins have several other beneficial effects that may also improve cardiac risk, and that may turn out to be even more important than their cholesterol-reducing properties. Common statins available are:
Lipitor (atorvastatin), Lescol (fluvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin), Pravachol (pravastatin), Zocor (simvastatin) and Crestor (rosuvastatin)

What are they used for?

Most people think of statins primarily as cholesterol-lowering drugs. Statins improve blood cholesterol levels primarily by inhibiting a liver enzyme called HMG Co-A reductase, thus reducing the liver’s ability to make cholesterol. Statins cause a significant reduction in LDL “bad” cholesterol levels, a moderate reduction in triglyceride levels, and a small increase in levels of HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol).

Advantages:

In addition to lowering cholesterol, however, statins have several other effects that are helpful in patients known or likely to have CAD. These beneficial effects include:

Reducing the size of plaques in the arteries, Stabilizing plaques, so they are less likely to rupture (and therefore less likely to cause acute heart attacks), Reducing inflammation (which is now thought to be an important component of plaque formation and rupture), Reducing CRP levels,
Decreasing blood clot formation (Blood clot formation at the site of plaque rupture is the cause of most heart attacks) and Improving overall vascular function

Disadvantages: They can cause,

Nausea, gas, upset stomach. Less common are headache, dizziness, rash, and sleep disturbances, elevations in liver enzymes, a muscle disorder producing muscle weakness, and pain and occasionally produce cognitive effects (difficulty with concentration or thought)