Statins are drugs that lower your cholesterol. But if you are age 75 or older and you haven't had symptoms of heart disease, statins may be a bad idea. Here's why: Adults age 75 and older may not need statins.
Despite their many benefits, many people stop taking statins. But unless you've had a serious side effect, or there is another serious medical reason for not taking a statin (for example, liver damage), you shouldn't stop taking your statins. Here's why: High cholesterol causes heart disease and stroke.
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.
Statins work to lower cholesterol levels and can reduce the risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and even cardiovascular disease deaths by 25% or more. It's important to note that if you stop taking them, these improved effects on your cholesterol will taper off after several months.
The only way to know if your cholesterol levels are in a healthy range is with a blood test. Your doctor can give you that test and let you know if you're safe to stop taking your statin.
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).
The cholesterol-lowering action of alternate-day statins is as effective as daily dosing in many individuals. 6.
Do not start a statin in patients ages ≥ 75 years who do not have known vascular disease or type 2 diabetes; start or continue a statin in all patients ages 75 to 84 with type 2 diabetes to prevent cardiovascular events and mortality; and start or continue a statin in patients ages > 75 years who have known vascular ...
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.
Discontinuing statins was associated with a significantly increased risk of hospital admission for heart failure of about 24%, other cardiovascular outcomes by 14%, and death from any cause by 15%.
August 23, 2022 – The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released today a final recommendation statement on statin use for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adults. The Task Force recommends people ages 40 to 75 at high risk for CVD take a statin to prevent a first heart attack or stroke.
Even if your side effects are frustrating, don't stop taking your statin medication for any period of time without talking to your doctor first. Your doctor may be able to come up with an alternative treatment plan that can help you lower your cholesterol without uncomfortable side effects.
Compared to a placebo, simvastatin reduced all-cause mortality by 13% and cardiovascular mortality by 27% regardless of age. Simvastatin decreased the rate of a first major cardiovascular event by 18% in participants aged 70–80 years (60).
Total cholesterol levels steadily increase with age from 20 to 65, following which they decrease slightly in men and tend to plateau in women. Elevated cholesterol levels are not uncommon in the elderly (61% of women aged between 65 and 74 have total cholesterol levels over 6.2 mmol/L [240 mg/dL]).
Check with your doctor whether there's a particular time of day you should take your statin. You usually have to continue taking statins for life because if you stop taking them, your cholesterol will return to a high level.
Now, if you are asking whether it is safe to split a tablet to get to the recommended dosage, the answer is yes. Lipitor does not have special coating or formulation that makes it a timed-release medication. Breaking the tablet in half will not alter its function or metabolism.
Fifty patients met study criteria, and overall most (37/50; 74%) tolerated the once-a-week regimen (Table 1). Among those who experienced myalgias from previous statins, 71% (25/35) tolerated once-a-week rosuvastatin.
Our study reported that both 5 mg and 10 mg rosuvastatin significantly decreases blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL levels.
Your health care team may prescribe medicine if: You have already had a heart attack or stroke or have peripheral arterial disease. Your LDL cholesterol level is 190 mg/dL or higher. You are 40–75 years old and have diabetes and an LDL cholesterol level of 70 mg/dL or higher.
Clinical guidelines from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association currently recommend that statins only be used for cholesterol-lowering in young adults with extremely high levels of LDL cholesterol (≥190 mg/dL).
The usual dose for adults is between 10mg and 80mg a day. Your dose depends on the reason why you're taking it, your cholesterol levels, and what other medicines you're taking.
According to a research review people who take simvastatin (Zocor) or pravastatin (Pravachol) may experience fewer side effects.
Which cholesterol-lowering drug is the safest? Overall, statins are safe as a class of drugs. Serious adverse events are very rare. Among the individual medications, studies have shown that simvastatin (Zocor®) and pravastatin (Pravachol®) seem to be safer and better tolerated than the other statins.