Statin drugs

[gu99]

I have battled high cholesterol for most of my adult life and am now at 170 (total) with the aid of a statin drug.  I have seen some reports that say that even though statins reduce cholesterol numbers there isn't the expected correlation with reduced incidence of heart disease. Is that true?  And if so, why should I continue taking a statins and risk liver damage?

[erijon]

There will always be discussion concerning the use of statins. It is  a simple fact that patients with high cholesterol levels benefit from the use of a statin as they are very effective at lowering LDL or bad cholesterol. The key is for your doctor to prescribe you at a dose that meets your goals and does not deplete your body of the amount of cholesterol you need. Red Rice Yeast is never recommended by a doctor because as a supplement, it is not controlled by the FDA and the actual dosage of the naturally occurring statin is not consistent from pill to pill, you are much better off with a statin product in which the manufacturing and testing has been reviewed and approved by the FDA.

I can quote study for study, link for link on this subject, I have the JUPITER trial saved on my hard drive and have read it many times. It is true, the largest benefit is with those with high cholesterol and multiple risk factors, all of which your doctor would have considered when he weighed the risk to the benefit for you as an individual and prescribed your meds.

I think you'll do great,

Jon

[gymdandee]

I disagree with you about the FDA, My son is the principal scientist with a major pharmaceutical Co. The information I've been told about various drugs and or implants  approved by them is something else!! As for supplements many doctors subscribe various  
supplements from vitamins to herbs. Consumer lab tests and publishes those that fail or are accepted for use.

[erijon]

As I recall, we have discussed the FDA and your son's experiences before, it was very interesting. I'm only going by what I've read and the discussion with the doctors I volunteer with. I also have read the FDA warning concerning supplements, not all things are equal.

Consumer Labs may run tests on some supplements, but there is a vast difference between a Consumer Labs test and a multi-year NIH managed drug trial with tens of thousands of participants tracked for years after the trial is over to validate the findings.

However, I can understand that some things may slip through the loop holes in the system, but I think the odds are better when they are controlled by the FDA.

Jon

[Flycaster305]

I credit statins for keeping me alive the last twelve years, but I've mixed in exercise, diet, weight loss and lifestyle changes at the same time.  My blood tests have been perfect, and I pay extra to outside my insurance coverage to test for vitamins, etc. A balance seems prudent.

What pharma does your son work for?  

[gymdandee]

I would rather not mention the Co.  I will tell you he has worked with the FDA on various
investigations with products.
One study showed that people who had higher levels of bacteria in their mouth were
more likely to have plaque buildup (atherosclerosis) in the carotid artery.
This bacteria is thought to enter the bloodstream through the gums and adhere to the plaques in the arteries, contributing to the narrowing of the arteries.
Another theory is that the presence of the bacteria triggers inflammation, which is the body’s response to foreign substances, that can cause illness.
This inflammation and swelling could also contribute to the narrowing of vessels and possibly cause blood clots to form in the arteries.
The No. 1 source of inflammation in the body is a bad diet. That explains why hardening of the arteries has become an epidemic only in the last 100 years:
Exercise helps keep arteries elastic Like I mentioned in an earlier try the peak 8 routine
I f you give me a list of vitamins and or supplements i will let you know the ones that are approved and the ones that failed and why they failed.

[erijon]

Actually, the statement;

"That explains why hardening of the arteries has become an epidemic only in the last 100 years"

Is not completely accurate. The reason that heart disease is so prevalent in the past 100 years is because it was not an accepted cause of death until 1920 and was rarely used until the 1930s. The reason for such a dramatic increase over the past 100 years has been proven to be more of a result of accurate reporting. The rules for reporting and  ranking  causes of death were developed by the NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics) around 1950. These standards were revised in 1967 and again in 1979 to the standards being used today. Prior to that, causes of death were reported based on each physician's discretion and heart disease was rarely used until well into the 1930s. It was not until the introduction of the above listed standards that causes of death were correctly reported and ranked based on one singular set of rules. This is when heart disease saw it's largest increases year over year. It is most likely true that heart disease was just as prevalent in 1900 as it is today, it just was not reported as it is today.

Just another thought on the increase over the past 100 years. Also, have you considered airborne irritants as a cause for inflammation in the body? We are all affected by the quality of the air we breathe. Just a thought.