Why does my doctor want me to take statins?
Asked by: Estella Carter | Last update: January 7, 2024Score: 4.7/5 (10 votes)
It can significantly delay the onset of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) and reduce the risk of having a serious event such as a heart attack or stroke. Statins also slow down the progression of disease so they can help delay symptoms such as angina (chest discomfort or breathlessness).
Why would a doctor put you on statins?
Statins are effective at lowering cholesterol and protecting against a heart attack and stroke, although they may lead to side effects for some people. Health care professionals often prescribe statins for people with high cholesterol.
What happens if you don t take statins for high cholesterol?
If you're taking a statin medication to lower your cholesterol, you will need to keep taking your prescription, or your cholesterol will likely go back up. Stopping your statin can put you at risk of having heart disease and other preventable health problems like stroke and heart attack from high cholesterol.
Can a person with high cholesterol reverse it without 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).
What is a safer alternative to statins?
Ezetimibe. Ezetimibe is a tablet that lowers cholesterol. It may be prescribed if statins cannot be taken, or alongside a statin for extra cholesterol-lowering. It's a 'cholesterol absorption inhibitor' that limits the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine.
Study Confirms What Many Patients Taking Statins Have Said for Years | NBC Nightly News
Can you get off statins once you start?
It's important to know that stopping statins cold turkey, or even gradually, can cause serious health problems and you should talk to your doctor before doing so.
Do statins cause weight gain?
Statin use is associated with increased calorie intake and consequent weight gain. It is speculated that statin‐dependent improvements in lipid profile may undermine the perceived need to follow lipid‐lowering and other dietary recommendations leading consequently to increased calorie intake.
What can I take instead of statins to lower cholesterol?
- Fibrates. Mostly used for lowering triglyceride levels in patients whose levels are very high and could cause pancreatitis. ...
- Cholestyramine and other bile acid-binding resins. These are relatively old drugs that were used before statins. ...
- Red yeast rice extract (RYRE)
What is the new treatment instead of statins?
People who can't or won't take statin medications to reduce LDL cholesterol may want to talk to their doctor about bempedoic acid (Nexletol).
Do cardiologists recommend statins?
Typically, if a person's LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) is 190 or higher, they're often advised to start a statin. Health care professionals use a risk calculator to estimate a person's risk of having a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years.
Why doesn t everyone take statins?
Statins are effective, accessible, and affordable. However, well-known side effects like muscle pain keep some people from taking them.
Do statins cause belly fat?
Takeaway. The use of statins may be connected to weight gain, but there's no clinical evidence as to why this weight gain occurs.
Are statins hard on your body?
Adults and teens can take statins. Most people don't have side effects from statins, but you shouldn't take them if you're pregnant, nursing or have certain types of liver disease. Let your provider know if you have diabetes. If you're already at risk for diabetes, statins can add to your risk of getting it.
Do statins help you lose body fat?
Objective: Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A [HMG CoA] reductase inhibitors) reduce blood lipoproteins and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. However, they may reduce fat metabolism.
What are the bad side effects of statin drugs?
- headache.
- dizziness.
- feeling sick.
- feeling unusually tired or physically weak.
- digestive system problems, such as constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion or farting.
- muscle pain.
- sleep problems.
- low blood platelet count.
Is there a natural substitute for statins?
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.
Do you always have to take statins for life?
You usually have to continue taking statins for life because if you stop taking them, your cholesterol will return to a high level. If you forget to take your dose, do not take an extra one to make up for it. Just take your next dose as usual the following day.
Do statins clear the arteries of plaque?
Statins don't just lower cholesterol levels but also reduce the risk of fatty plaques breaking off from walls of your arteries, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Some people may be able to reduce their cholesterol to safe levels by changing their diet, or exercising more.
Can statins reverse plaque?
Q: Can statins actually reverse plaque buildup? A: Yes. There have been several clinical studies — many of them done here at Cleveland Clinic — that show statins can reverse plaque buildup.
Is aspirin as good as statins?
Statin therapy has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by 30% to 40% when used for primary prevention of CVD5. Therefore, in the prevention of primary CVD, the combination of statins with aspirin is more beneficial than aspirin alone.
Do statins cause hair loss?
About 1% of people taking statins report hair loss. This figure hasn't changed since 1987, when statins were introduced. We don't know exactly why statins might cause hair loss. But we do know that cholesterol is an important building block for steroid hormones, which play a role in hair growth.
What does muscle pain from statins feel like?
Muscle pain from statins might also show up differently for different people. For example, you could feel muscle weakness, soreness, aches, stiffness, or cramps. These side effects can range from mild to severe. The older you are, the more likely you are to experience statin-induced muscle pain.
Do statins lower blood pressure?
Conclusion: Statins lower blood pressure by cholesterol-independent mechanisms, and the reduction is larger in individuals with higher blood pressure and those with low HDL-C. Statins may be beneficial in preventing hypertension and may contribute to better blood pressure control in hypertensive patients.
Should I refuse to take statins?
Before you refuse to take a statin or stop taking a statin, consult your doctor. He or she can explain why you may benefit from the drug or help you find a different statin if you experience side effects. We are constantly evaluating current methods for preventing and treating medical conditions.
Is it best to avoid statins?
Statins should not be taken if you have liver disease or if blood tests suggest that your liver may not be working properly. This is because statins can affect your liver, and this is more likely to cause serious problems if you already have a damaged liver.