New details from two studies reveal more side effects from niacin, a drug that hundreds of thousands of Americans take for cholesterol problems and general heart health. Some prominent doctors say the drug now seems too risky for routine use.
Niacin is a type of B vitamin long sold over the counter and in higher prescription doses. Some people take it alone or with statin medicines such as Lipitor for cholesterol problems.
The larger study suggests that “for every 200 people that we treat with niacin, there is one excess death,” plus higher rates of bleeding, infections and other problems — “a completely unacceptable level” of harm, said Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones of Northwestern University. “Niacin should not be used routinely in clinical practice at all.”
He co-led a panel for the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology that recently issued new cholesterol treatment guidelines. The group did not recommend niacin but said it could be considered for certain patients.
