Fear of side effects and perceived side effects are the most common reasons for declining or discontinuing statin therapy. Willingness to take a statin is high, among both patients who have declined statin therapy and those who have never been offered one.
Statin use has been linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes because the medication can fuel mild glucose elevations in predisposed individuals — an effect that can often be countervailed by exercise and losing as little as a few pounds.
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). If your risk is very high — for example, you've had a heart attack in the past — a statin may be helpful even if you don't have high cholesterol.
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%.
If you stop taking your statin medication, like atorvastatin (Lipitor), you could have a higher risk of heart problems, including heart attack and stroke. Your healthcare provider may recommend stopping your statin if you have serious side effects.
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.
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 controversy in the United Kingdom started in 2013 when the British Medical Journal (BMJ) claimed statins were being overprescribed to people with low risk of heart disease, and that the drugs' side effects were worse than previously thought.
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).
Researchers found that physicians who didn't receive industry money prescribed brand-name statins at a rate of almost 18 percent. Those who did take money prescribed brand-name drugs at a rate of almost 23 percent.
Compared to younger adults, older adults are more likely to suffer serious side effects from using statins. Statins can cause muscle problems, such as aches, pains, or weakness. Rarely, there can be a severe form of muscle breakdown.
Statins are being prescribed to prevent vari- ous heart conditions, when many studies have shown they have no effect on cardiac mortality, the book argues. Nevertheless, seven million French patients take statins, often for longer periods than they do in other countries, at a cost of €2bn a year to the state.
Statin use is associated with increased calorie intake and consequent weight gain.
You can take steps to reduce plaques by losing weight, exercising more, or eating fewer foods high in saturated fat. In some cases, doctors may also prescribe medications to lower cholesterol.
Some statin users have reported that they experienced memory loss while taking the medication. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated its safety information for statins to include memory loss, forgetfulness, and confusion as possible risks, or side effects of taking statins.
The findings of our NMA suggest that moderate statin dose and high-intensity exercise interventions are often potentially effective in terms of improvements on arterial stiffness. High-intensity exercise interventions should therefore be considered as a viable alternative to, or alongside, moderate statin dose therapy.
These are most commonly found in fruits, vegetables, including figs, avocados, nuts, oilseeds, oils such as rice bran, olive oil and whole grains, including barley, oats, whole wheat. Taking two grams of plant sterols or stanols per day usually results in a 10 per cent lowering of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
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.
Most people can lower high cholesterol with lifestyle changes, like prioritizing heart-healthy foods, quitting tobacco products, exercising regularly, and sleeping enough. Making changes to lower your cholesterol might mean you don't need to take cholesterol medication anymore (or deal with the side effects).
Oatmeal, oat bran and high-fiber foods
Soluble fiber is also found in such foods as kidney beans, Brussels sprouts, apples and pears. Soluble fiber can reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream. Five to 10 grams or more of soluble fiber a day decreases your LDL cholesterol.
When people have high cholesterol their LDL (bad) is high and their HDL (good) is low. Eating healthy, regular exercise and drinking plenty of water will help to bring down cholesterol levels within 2-3 weeks.
To me, the answer is clear: Every adult who is 50 or older with at least one risk factor for heart disease should be on a statin medication. Statins are the gold standard of treatment for coronary heart disease, especially when paired with healthy lifestyle choices.
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.