Hi everyone I have just been diagnosed with a narrowed artery on top of being diagnosed with leaking heart valves. Just about got my head around the valves but the narrowed artery has been another curve ball which has knocked me for six. I am about to be put on statins, I have a couple of questions I would really appreciate some help and advice I’m quietly terrified.
Today just out of the blue my heart felt really odd and beating fast, I took my blood pressure, I have a Omron one which shows arrhythmia, and it showed that I was having arrhythmia. Is this normal it’s never happened before, is arrhythmia something to be really concerned about, I have calmed down and it’s now not showing.
Could I also get some advice re statins is it true they make you feel dreadful.
Would really appreciate some advice, thank you.
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Athena1969
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Some people do get side effects from statins, but apparently it's less than 10% of users. However you tend to hear about those who suffer, not from those who don't. And I have been taking statins for over 25 years and now on the max dose of atorvastatin and I don't get side effects and my wife has recently started on 20mg atorvastatin and she doesn't get side effects. So the only way of finding out is to try them, and if you get side effects from one, there are others to try which might not give side effects, but if in the end you are 'statin intolerant' there are other forms of medication available to manage your cholesterol, assuming it is recommended by your health professional. So my suggestion is to just get on and take them and see how you fare.
Hi. I've taken Statins for over 20 Years now and have had no trouble at all with them! I've had my Heart Problems since the Age of 6 but not diagnosed until I was 23!! My Doctor swears by them and say they decrease the risk of a Heart Attack greatly!
I can understand how you must be feeling try not to worry to much as you are now in their care and they will give you the right treatment and what they can do is fantastic now but still I get you did not want to hear anything else
I have the same BP machine as you and sometimes not often but when I take my BP it can say that but I don't have arrhythmia and when I told my Doctor she said I could have moved slightly or had a little palpation
If you just had it once then I would just monitor it and if it does keep happening mention it to your Doctor
Statins years ago I was advised to take them but because of all the horror stories which people always like to share it frightened me and so stupidly I did not take them
Years later I had a heart attack followed by two more and then a triple bypass
Do I take statins now yes I do and have I stopped listening to the horror stories about statins yes I have
I often wondered had I taken them when I was first told would I have had heart attacks like I did I shall never know
There are so many different statins and what suits one may not suit another yet the first one I was put on I am still on the same one the only thing that I had changed was the dosage as I was getting some aches and so we went down a bit and my Cholesterol is ok on the lower dose and I don't ache
They really are nothing to be frightened of at all if needed they can do more good than harm you
They really don't make you feel dreadful and if they did you could always talk with your Doctor and try a different one or look at the dose but give them a try and let us know how you get on x
thanks so much for your response and advice I really appreciate it.
I have taken my blood pressure a few times and still getting the Arrythmia sign after a full night sleep, will mention it to my doctor. Can feel palpitations, it’s so hard navigating this it’s all so new and such a shock.
So sorry to hear of your journey but so glad your on the right the track now, keep well😊
I know after my heart attacks and even now I have had a bypass anything I feel or anything reads wrong I go in a panic and start wondering I have anxiety anyway but because of what I have been through it is now so much worse
It is early days and navigating as you say is so hard but once they have sorted everything it will get better
Thanks so much for your response I have the same issue with anxiety which I hate because it really muddies the waters. Something to keep working on I wish you all the good health in the world thanks so much for your help and support x
Don't worry about what would have happened. I had been taking statins for about 15 years before i had a mild ha last july and cabg4 in september. I am still recovering and still taking atarvastatin. I am not at all if they are any good.
I cant help but wonder though and do get angry with myself as heart disease runs in my family and at the time my cholesterol was high when I ignored their advice
I hope you have recovered well after your Bypasses
I was told 5 years ago by GP at routine check up I had high cholesterol even though my diet was pretty healthy. My parents both have high cholesterol and both take statins. This year I had another routine checkup to be told I still have high cholesterol and they started me on statins atorvastatin 20mg. I had a heart attack 6 weeks on from starting statins and feel frustrated they didn't put me on them 5 years ago due to family history. I am now on a dose of 80mg with a raft of other medication after having 1 stent fitted and a narrow artery that still needs attention
Don't worry about it mate. I had been taking statins for about 15 years but that did not stop me having a ha and an ohs despite ny best efforts. I think whole statin issue is a lot rubbish. I still take them though because me cardiologist insisted.
I was diagnosed with cad last year and also a large hole in heart which didn't know was there,put on statins- all i can say is see how you feel,atorvastin is the main one drs use,make sure you have a blood test after 12weeks, this one affected my liver,I changed to ezetimibe but had fatigue,now on rosuvastatin,if they change how you are-dont persevere,just get changed
I’ve been on statins since last June and had no side effects but I know someone who had extreme itching from taking them, I believe a small percentage of people have a reaction.
No statins do not make you feel dreadful if you get the right ones. My husband had leg pain on atorvastatin, I had stomach pain. I now take simvastatin which is perfectly fine. Rosuvastatin is supposed to have the fewest side effects. There's plenty of choice. They don't just lower your cholesterol but the hep to prevent bits of plaque from breaking off and causing a heart attack or stroke. Take them. If I'd had them earlier I probably wouldn't have had a heart attack. Also look at your diet to reduce cholesterol. Cut out friend food, ready meals, pastry etc and increase white meat, fish and veg. No smoking of course and very little alcohol. You haven't had a death sentence you've had a warning to change things and get treatment. The arrhythmia that shows on your Omron could be anything. It's probably nothing more than palpitations which can be caused by anxiety. Most are completely harmless; just like hiccups - just a heart beat that comes a bit early. I had palpitations for years.
No statins do not make you feel dreadful if you get the right ones. My husband had leg pain on atorvastatin, I had stomach pain. I now take simvastatin which is perfectly fine. Rosuvastatin is supposed to have the fewest side effects. There's plenty of choice. They don't just lower your cholesterol but the hep to prevent bits of plaque from breaking off and causing a heart attack or stroke. Take them. If I'd had them earlier I probably wouldn't have had a heart attack. Also look at your diet to reduce cholesterol. Cut out friend food, ready meals, pastry etc and increase white meat, fish and veg. No smoking of course and very little alcohol. You haven't had a death sentence you've had a warning to change things and get treatment. The arrhythmia that shows on your Omron could be anything. It's probably nothing more than palpitations which can be caused by anxiety. Most are completely harmless; just like hiccups - just a heart beat that comes a bit early. I had palpitations for years.
Thanks so much for your message Qualipop makes a lot of sense what you say and some sound advice, I really appreciate it. I am nailing the food element lost 2 stone in 8 weeks and want to lose a lot more I have gone on a Mediterranean diet. Thanks again really appreciate it x wish you all the good health in the world
A fantastic effort on eth diet change but I'd slow it down a bit; that's a huge loss in such a short time. I lost 2 stone after my HA but over about 4 months. My GP was actually worried that I'd lost so much and ordered cancer tests- clear of course. I hadn't even tried to lose weight, just changed my diet.
If we'd been brought up knowing how to eat good food but I certainly was a post war baby and my parents brought me up on the way they'd had to cook. My husband was brought up on pies and fries and even now won't eat anything else
Similar to Bekind28, I took statins years ago and they made me feel like I was finishing a hangover whenever I took them so I stopped. Going for a CABG next week, who knows if statins would have made any difference. When my CAD was suspected I was put on Atorvastatin and I haven't had any side effects at all, I probably should have changed to these in the first place but in my ignorance I just thought statins were statins.
Since the CAD investigation and diagnosis I have chest pains, thumping heart beat and sometimes my heart seems to skip a beat or two. I am fairly certain that things have not actually dramatically progressed in the last 2-3 months and suspect that I am now simply more aware and, being honest, more frightened by what it might mean but it is no different to how it was before. Certanly not saying ignore it but try not to let it get to you too badly.
Thanks so much for sharing your thought and experience, everyone in this community are so helpful. It makes a very isolating experience make you feel your not alone. I wish you all the best and hope things improve for you x
I've been on statins on and off for a number of years.
Some can be bad (Simvastatin for me, swollen legs and joint pains), some awful (Atorvastatin, I needed sticks to walk my joints were so painful) and some are perfectly ok (Rosuvastatin which I've been on since my heart attack and then surgery, I've had 2xPCI, AVR and a single CABG).
Both the Atorvastatin and Simvastatin were prescribed long before my HA.
I'm also on a dose of Ezetimibe which is also to control cholesterol but it works in a totally different way, no side effects from that for me.
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