In August, my GP recommended a statin for the first time. The fact I’d turned 65, when added to my overall cholesterol of 6.2 and a family history of heart attacks evidently put me at a higher risk. Therefore, as a preventative, he first prescribed 20 mg of Atorvastatin. I was actually happy when this appeared to affect my liver so the dose was reduced to the minimum 10 mg. I’m more comfortable taking a low dose because I take another prescription med for another condition which can also affect both the liver & cholesterol levels.
However, even on this low dose, the numerous US doctors who are currently protesting against the over-use of statins as a preventative-claiming that many bodily functions rely on cholesterol and that long-term use of statins can lead to issues with diabetes and even dementia, really concerns me. Yet, over here, the NHS is still their biggest fan. With ‘Big Pharma’ in the US, you’d think it would be the opposite. Any ideas?
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Goldglades
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Statins not only lower cholesterol blood levels they also reduce inflammation and stabilise any areas of plaque, helping to reduce heart attacks and strokes.
There are alternative statins and cholesterol lowering medications available.
Alzheimer's society believe statins reduce risk by 30% and a large scale trial assessed the risk of statins and Diabetes as 0.2% per year. TBH if I were cynical I'd think that Big Pharma (and some medics) in the US would prefer people to develop heart disease, have strokes etc because they don't make much money out of statins as many are generic now and they make more money out of the drugs etc used to treat the conditions caused by high cholesterol.
Why are you bringing US doctors and "big Pharma" up? I suggest you should focus on UK based advice as another member has suggested.
With a family history and a level of 6.2, you have high risk factors, either side of the pond. You need to focus on bringing your cholesterol level down to below 4, which will almost certainly involve statins, and to making sure your diet and exercise regimes are as good as possible.
Any dubious claims that statins cause Dementia or T2 diabetes are, in my opinion, massively outweighed by the benefits. Poor diet and a lack of fitness are far more likely to pose a threat to your health.
I would suggest you look at the BHF advice on all three both rather than worrying about anything that comes from the US!
Actually I have a very healthy diet. I see a lot of American articles & videos because, although I live in the UK, I am half American and my brother lives in the US.
The. USA has a fundamentally dishonest money grabbing medical industry that cannot be trusted to give honest information. Check what the BHF and NICE advise. They may not get everything right all the time but they aren’t dishonest.
Atorvastin is the 1st statin you get given,I was put on in but it too affected my liver,I asked to change and after taking a different one( which made me so tired so stopped) am now on rosuvastatin,yes they're good but we have to have a good quality of life in our older years
Same , I had issues with 80mg artovastatin. Did a trial stop for over a month and felt fantastic! Tried pravastatin and within a week I had similar issues. Now on 10mg Rosuvastatin and doing ok 👍🏻
I would agree that there is a deal of confusion/disagreement re the prescribing of and benefits of statins. That said, even by other international norms (which are higher than the UK) your Total Cholesterol is high: hence, the need for lifestyle changes and/or statins.
You are also the ‘victim’ (as we all are) of a medical risk assessment tool known as QRisk3 which assesses your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. For the patient this can seem to be a pretty harsh tool. For example, last year my wife who was 74 had a Total Cholesterol level of 5.8: the clinician annotated the result as No Comment. This year her Total Cholesterol had fallen to 5.1 but, as she had reached 75, she was told that she should be on statins which she now is.
When we raised this with a GP, the response was that the majority of patients under the QRisk3 assessment protocol would be advised to take statins at the age of 80 irrespective of their cholesterol levels. She pointed out that it was the patient’s decision whether or not to follow medical advice.
FWiW, recent academic research by The European Society of Cardiology and its sister organisation in the US now recommends that patients who have been diagnosed with certain cardiovascular-related conditions should be on statins at maximum strength irrespective of their cholesterol levels. I believe that this advice was accepted by NICE in July this year. In general, my take is that clinicians in favour of statins far outweigh those that are against. I have been on statins for nearly 20 years.
That's interesting. I had wondered about its usefulness generally and also whether it was appropriate to use it for decision making when the patient already has a heart condition.
Given that my ultimate aim is to get onto medication for my vasospastic angina, probably Diltiazem as that is the one always mentioned, I am concerned about the interaction with statins, which is flagged both by NICE and the BNF.
I have been taking high doses of Diltiazem for many years.It is a calcium channel blocker, it helps reduce coronary vasospasms by relaxing the smooth muscle in the artery walls.
Hyperactivity of the smooth muscle in the artery walls is a possible cause of coronary vasospasms.
I am also prescribed rosuvastatin to ensure my total cholesterol is below 4.
The statin helps to reduce endothelial dysfunction one of the other possible causes of vasospastic angina.
Also my Cardiologist is mindful that if I develop obstructive disease on top of my vasospastic angina, my risks of a heart attack would be very high.
All medications have side effects, sometimes its a case of balancing the risks of a medication and the benefits.
Lots of long term, randomised and data based studies on the beneficial use of statins - as others have said BHF is excellent source of information.
Cholesterol does play a role but it’s the breakdown between LDL (bad) and HDL (good) that is important.
My GP initially had me on atorvastatin 20mg and it spiked my liver. Since reducing to 10mg my cholesterol reading has stayed steady at 3.4 and liver reading is now normal.
Statins not only reduces cholesterol but also stabilises and ‘locks in place’ any plaque already in your arteries.
On a less scientific note my cardiologist would have everyone on 10mg of statins. My GP confirmed to me that they all write prescriptions for each other and they also all take statins as long term prevention.
"You do not state your LDL level which cannot be too high with overall 6.2." How do you know? the OP's LDL could easily be too high especially if there is a family history of CHD.
Most cholesterol (80%) is made in your liver, you will never get it down to acceptable levels for those of us who have genetic predisposition by diet alone.
Hi again, just ask? or get your GP to send the full report to you via email. We have a system here in London called the Patients Know Best. Once you sign up your results will automatically come into the system.
Being vigilant with your diet is also very important even with inherited high LDL.
There are issues with the information services as I discovered when my adress was chsnged out if the blue! It took enormous efforts to get to the source of the mistake because everyone involved with my information ran for cover - GDPR phobia?
My surgery does everything by phone, prescriptions , appointments and test results, the hospital sends a letter after every clinic, for all I know they might still use a fax machine 🤣. Char
The anti-inflammatory effect of statins is likely at least part of the protective factor for the brain just as it is for the cardiovascular system. Statins seem to be helpful in certain cancers, again perhaps at least partially due again to anti-inflammatory properties. Another plus is the beneficial effect of statins in treating periodentitis. Some studies correlate lower fracture rates with longterm use of statins. On the other hand, statins sometimes increase inflammation in muscles and in the liver.
Of course, statins are different and each individual statin has a different risk-benefit profile that may also depend on a person's gender, age, and race. I wish medicine were a precise science, but it seemed to me that statins tended to be somewhat protective in multiple areas of concern to me as I age.
Thank you. I have read that genetic profiling may in the future predict individual response to a particular medication.
15 years ago cardiologists were saying that statins were effective in vascular disease, independent of serum cholesterol, because of their anti inflammatory effect. It took NICE another 10 years to catch up.
I have a family member whose doctor uses pharmacogenetics to assist in prescribing. Unfortunately, I don't think the clinical studies exist to support this broadly, although some data may exist in older studies aimed at other goals. For myself, initially I tried Simvastatin and had some issues that concerned me. My only concern with Pitavastatin is that maybe it works too well in my body even at 1 mg per day, but I figure I can just start taking it every other day.
Turn the clock back 50yrs. If your Dr would have prescribed you statins back then, would you just have started taking them? Imagine no google, no social media - just plain Dr advice.
We need to have a bit of faith in our doctors - otherwise the whole system stops working.
Large scale surveys in Europe and the USA show those on Statins live longer. My consultant recommended I take them after giving my brain an MRI scan. He said it would preserve my brain function longer. I'm over 80 now and still have a very good memory. No diabetes or signs of dementia. I have no side effects from them.
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