A 44-year-old male patient with a single vessel ischaemic heart disease was referred to the lipid clinic for management of hypercholesterolaemia after an episode of admission with thrombocytopenic purpura secondary to atorvastatin. Atorvastatin was discontinued and his platelet counts improved gradually with steroids. He is now established on a different statin with no further episodes of thrombocytopenia. Though a drug challenge was never done, an idiosyncratic reaction to the initial statin seems to be the most likely cause.