Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetana3
My doctor has been asking me (well telling me really) for years to take a statin. I have refused. This year she said well lets put all your data into this fancy program that will show you the % chance you have of a stroke or heart attack in the next 10 years. (Female 65 years old). She said it will show over 7.5% which will require a statin.
Darn if it was not less than 5.5%. So I did not even meet the "level" that required a statin. I have also had a heart scan that showed zero plaque build up which is excellent.
In our circle of friends, 100% who are on a statin have had side effects which ranged from medium to severe. My husband had tried 4 and now is on a very very low dose due to side effects. He truly needs to keep cholesterol lower due to his own heart scam. But the cardiac specialist said all his other risk factors are very low.
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Well, 100% of the total number of people who take statins do not have side effects from them. Several posters here have commented that they do not. I also do not, and neither does my husband, who has been on one since they first came out.
There appears to be a genetic component to muscle problems with statins.
Anyone who has had DNA testing with 23AndMe (and possibly other companies) can check for this gene:
https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs4149056
I have the (T/T) variant, which fits nicely with the way I react (or do not react) to statins. Note that the majority of people are also (T/T). See the bar chart labeled 28.
In addition, people are no more likely to report muscle pain with a statin compared to placebo when they do not know they are taking the statin. If they know they are on the statin, they report more.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0502204933.htm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jaminhealth
1. We've discussed this statin issue so much here. I would NEVER take them.
2. I don't buy into the cholesterol fear as many are pushed into by their doctors and the "industry".
3. We need cholesterol and especially for our brain functions. Do research on this point.
4. My MD has been checking homocysteine levels for the last 3-4 yrs and levels were elevated so I've been working on that and lowering levels...this for heart health.
6. Listen to your doctor and/or follow your "heart" thinking.
7. I know one person who took statins for many years and ended up with horrible neuropathy. She believed the MD about cholesterol and did NOT do her own research.
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Feel free to ignore cholesterol. Others do so at their peril.
We need cholesterol; too much of certain types floating in the blood contributes to the disease of the heart vessels that causes heart attacks.
There is no evidence that lowering homocysteine will reduce heart attack risk.
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/...ocysteine-risk
Yes, listen to your own doctor!
The risk of neuropathy with a statin appears to be 4 to 5 out of 10,000 treated. For most people it gets better when the drug is discontinued. Many people on statins also have other conditions, including diabetes, that may cause neuropathy, so developing neuropathy while on a statin is not proof the statin caused it. Other causes must be ruled out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lchoro
The cholesterol numbers alone are insufficient. More recent studies show that statins work if there's been prior damage to the heart muscle or to arteries which can be checked by testing for an elevated c-reactive protein (CRP).
JUPITER Study to Prevent Vascular Events in Men and Women with Elevated C-Reactive Protein
If you have had a prior heart attack or experienced chest pain during exercise as stated in the guideline, they recommend taking a statin.
There are also some studies that show people on statins take on more unhealthy habits until they've had their first heart attack. |
C-reactive protein is a non-specific measure of inflammation. Elevations can be associated with conditions other than heart disease.
The guidelines are not based on cholesterol numbers alone. They take into consideration age, sex, and the presence of risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and smoking.
Some studies? Which ones?
If patients think that being on a statin gives them free rein to avoid making lifestyle changes, that is not the fault of the guidelines or the physician. The responsibility falls fully on the patient.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crashj007
Statins, I have read, control cholesterol and seem to improve the diagnosis of heart disease. OTOH, there is not a lot of correlation between that and heart attacks. Some reports indicate that most people with first time fatal heart attacks have cholesterol within normal limits.
To clarify, there are a lot of heart disease conditions besides abrupt heart attacks.
"It's a puzzlement"
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I am not sure what you are trying to say here. Part of the difficulty with prescribing statins has been trying to define what "normal limits" are for cholesterol. Perhaps some of those who have heart attacks with cholesterol "within normal limits" would have benefited from lower levels.
Th question is not so much what is "within normal limits" as it is what is
optimal. The optimal number needs to be defined for each individual, based on other risk factors. The numbers will be lower for someone with known heart disease.
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