Statins prevent heart attacks in people with diabetes. The relevance of the mild increase in sugar values with statins observed in some people is unclear. The benefit of taking statins likely outweighs the small risk to have the blood sugar level go up. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.
However, for the majority of people taking statins, the benefits in terms of reduced risk of heart attack or stroke will outweigh the risk of side effects.
inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), which can cause flu-like symptoms. inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), which can cause stomach pain. skin problems, such as acne or an itchy red rash. sexual problems, such as loss of libido (reduced sex drive) or erectile dysfunction.
What are the benefits of statins? Scientific studies and years of use all over the world have proven that statins, when used as indicated, reduce a person's chances of having a heart attack or stroke; needing surgery, angioplasty, or stenting to improve blood flow in an artery; and dying from a heart attack.
Statins should be taken with caution if you're at an increased risk of developing a rare side effect called myopathy, which is where the tissues of your muscles become damaged and painful. Severe myopathy (rhabdomyolysis) can lead to kidney damage. Things that can increase this risk include: being over 70 years old.
If you're taking a statin medication to lower your cholesterol, you will need to keep taking your prescription, or your cholesterol will likely go back up. Stopping your statin can put you at risk of having heart disease and other preventable health problems like stroke and heart attack from high cholesterol.
Toxicity to body
Some participants stated that they perceived statins as 'a load of trash' that could potentially cause harmful long-term effects on the body. As a result, they preferred or opted for what they considered to be alternatives to statins, including dietary and other lifestyle changes.
If you have high cholesterol and are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, you should consider statins. That's because the benefits of statins greatly outweigh the risks. Statins reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events like heart attack or stroke by up to 25%, and death by 10%.
Statins help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol, in the blood. They draw cholesterol out of plaque and stabilize plaque, Blaha says.
The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association developed some prescription guidelines. Typically, if a person's LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) is 190 or higher, they're often advised to start a statin.
Statins do not address the underlying cause of heart disease: Chronic inflammation. Statins may lower cholesterol, but they do not address the underlying cause of heart disease, which is typically chronic inflammation (some people are genetically predisposed to cardiovascular disease).
Use of low- or moderate-dose statins was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality (pooled risk ratio [RR], 0.86 [95% CI, 0.80 to 0.93]), cardiovascular mortality (RR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.54 to 0.88]), ischemic stroke (RR, 0.71 [95% CI, 0.62 to 0.82]), heart attack (RR, 0.64 [95% CI, 0.57 to 0.71]), and a ...
For men as well as women across various age groups, the researchers concluded that the risks of statin therapy consistently outweighed the benefits.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
The most important thing your doctor will keep in mind when thinking about statin treatment is your long-term risk of a heart attack or stroke. If your risk is very low, you probably won't need a statin, unless your LDL is above 190 mg/dL (4.92 mmol/L).
In vitro (15–19) and animal (19–23) studies suggest biological mechanisms through which magnesium may prevent or reverse plaque formation and calcification.
Statins don't just lower cholesterol levels but also reduce the risk of fatty plaques breaking off from walls of your arteries, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
The overall prevalence of true statin intolerance was no more than 6% to 10%. Factors that increased the likelihood of being statin intolerant included being Black, Asian, female, or older; having diabetes, liver or kidney disease, or an underactive thyroid; taking certain heart medications; or drinking alcohol.
Some people do not tolerate statins or may want to try natural remedies to treat their high cholesterol. Statin alternatives include some prescription medications like ezetimibe and fibric acids. Natural remedies that some people use to help treat high cholesterol include omega-3 fatty acids and red yeast rice extract.
PCSK-9 inhibitors thus reduce cholesterol levels by maintaining higher levels of LDL receptors that remove cholesterol from the blood. Currently, PCSK-9 inhibitors are limited in use as they must be administered as shots. Further research into them could expand their use as an alternative to statins.
After having their cholesterol tested, seniors should be given a number between 190 and 260. Healthy seniors should keep their total cholesterol below 200 and their LDL cholesterol around 100. If your elderly loved one's LDL cholesterol level is above 160, he or she must start making sweeping lifestyle changes.
Conclusion: Statins lower blood pressure by cholesterol-independent mechanisms, and the reduction is larger in individuals with higher blood pressure and those with low HDL-C. Statins may be beneficial in preventing hypertension and may contribute to better blood pressure control in hypertensive patients.