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Most cardiologists take it as absolute fact that cholesterol is a bad actor in the heart disease saga. They believe that LDL cholesterol in particular is responsible for causing clogged coronary arteries. Because statins lower LDL cholesterol very effectively, doctors conclude that such drugs prevent heart disease in most patients. Every once in a while, though, a report surfaces that contradicts the theory.
Q. My father has been taking various statins for over 20 years. At first he was prescribed Zocor. Later he was told to take Lipitor. More recently his doctor had him on rosuvastatin.
Dad has had some aches and pains but has been able to tolerate these statins reasonably well. He has always maintained an active lifestyle. He walks daily and loves to play golf and tennis.
A few weeks ago he suffered some serious chest pain. When the cardiologists examined his coronary arteries they discovered that two were almost completely closed off (nearly 98% clogged) and another two were also in bad shape, though not totally blocked. They put stents in four arteries and he is now doing well.
What has us confused is how this could have happened. We thought statins were supposed to protect people from clogged coronary arteries and heart attacks. How could dad have ended up in such bad shape after all those years of a good diet and statin treatment?
A. We’re pleased to learn that your father is recovering well from this ordeal. That said, the question you raise is complicated and the answers remain controversial.
Another Statin Disappointment:
Another reader shared his personal story that challenges the LDL cholesterol theory of heart disease:
Q. I have never had high LDL cholesterol, but my doctors have prescribed statins for many years. I am currently taking atorvastatin.
Despite having taken these cholesterol-lowering drugs, I have coronary artery disease. I needed several angioplasties and stents placed after my heart attack. My cardiologist is now planning bypass surgery. In my case, lowering LDL cholesterol did not protect my heart.
A. Heart disease is complicated. Some people experience heart attacks even though their cholesterol levels are normal. Another blood lipid called lipoprotein a, abbreviated Lp(a), is rarely tested but may contribute to clogged arteries. This risk factor usually runs in families. Somewhat surprisingly, statins may actually increase Lp(a) rather than lowering it.
To learn more about the pros and cons of statins and other ways to reduce heart risks, you may wish to read our eGuide to Cholesterol Control and Heart Health. This online resource is available under the Health eGuides tab.
The Cholesterol Hypothesis:
Ask most physicians what causes heart disease and heart attacks and they will tell you it’s primarily a cholesterol problem. Too much bad LDL cholesterol and/or too little good HDL cholesterol leads to plaque development and clogged coronary arteries. They point to numerous randomized controlled trials that show lowering LDL cholesterol reduces the risk of heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease.
It seems like an open and shut case. That’s why tens of millions of Americans take statins such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (lescol), lovastatin (Mevacor), pitavastatin (Livalo), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor).
How Good Are Statins?
What is rarely mentioned in this discussion is how many people have to take a statin in order to prevent one heart attack. It’s a surprisingly large number. This is what is called the absolute risk reduction and most people zone out the minute we start talking about statistics. Please hang in there with us as we describe a major meta-analysis by statin enthusiasts (Lancet, Aug. 11, 2012).
These cardiologists and statisticians analyzed data from 27 clinical trials. Over 170,000 people participated in these studies. Cutting to the chase, here is what they found:
If 1,000 people took a statin instead of a placebo for five years there would have been 11 fewer “major vascular events.” Put another way, 5.2% of the people getting placebo experienced an “event” over the five year period whereas 4.1% of those on a statin had such an event. That represents a 1.1% improvement. Depending upon your perspective, this kind of risk reduction is either fabulous or modest. We offer no editorial opinion.
A Medical Heretic Analyzed the Data:
Dr. John Abramson, MD, MSc, has been a faculty member at Harvard Medical School for 25 years. He taught health-care policy. In his book, Sickening: How Big Pharma Broke American Health Care, he asked the following question:
“Does statin therapy provide a net benefit for people at low risk of cardiovascular disease?
To answer the question he “calculated the effect of statin therapy on overall mortality and on heart attacks and strokes in people whose risk of cardiovascular disease was less than 20 percent over the next ten years”:
“Our findings, published in the British Medical Journal in October, 2013, showed that statin therapy provides very little or no net benefit in this population:
“• no significant reduction in mortality (the overall risk of death)
• small (though statistically significant) reduction in the risk of nonfatal heart attack and stroke — 140 people with low risk (less than 20 percent five-year risk) must take a statin for five years to prevent one nonfatal event (NNT [number needed to treat] = 140)
• no reduction in serious adverse events (events serious enough to cause hospitalization) overall”
Many cardiologists reject Dr. Abramson’s calculations. They even tried to get him to retract his BMJ article. These pro-statin advocates were unsuccessful, however. After reanalyzing his data calculations, an independent analysis concluded that there were no grounds for retraction.
The Guidelines:
We can say that the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have concluded that virtually every older person should be on a statin, regardless of risk factors. You could be a vegetarian and a marathon runner and it wouldn’t matter. The guidelines encourage most men over 56 to take a statin and women over 65 to be on such drugs.
The belief is that the lower the LDL cholesterol the better! In other words, Mother Nature messed up. She made a terrible mistake when she allowed the body to make LDL cholesterol.
The Cholesterol Hypothesis Under Fire:
Over the last couple of decades we have seen a number of health professionals resist the tidal wave of enthusiasm for a statin in every medicine cabinet. Most of these physicians have been general practitioners or internists. But there is now a cardiologist and lipid specialist who has joined their ranks.
Robert Dubroff, MD, was an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. He is a lipidologist, which means he understands cholesterol and its impact on blood vessels better than most health professionals. Dr. Dubroff recently retired and has written some intriguing articles. One is titled “Cholesterol Paradox: A Correlate Does Not a Surrogate Make” (Evidence Based Medicine, March, 2017).
A Cardiologist Challenges His Colleagues
Dr. Dubroff introduces his article this way:
“The global campaign to lower cholesterol by diet and drugs has failed to thwart the developing pandemic of coronary heart disease around the world. Some experts believe this failure is due to the explosive rise in obesity and diabetes, but it is equally plausible that the cholesterol hypothesis, which posits that lowering cholesterol prevents cardiovascular disease, is incorrect. The recently presented ACCELERATE trial dumbfounded many experts by failing to demonstrate any cardiovascular benefit of evacetrapib despite dramatically lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in high-risk patients with coronary disease.”
Dr. Dubroff refers to a randomized clinical trial called ACCELERATE. It undermined the very foundation of the cholesterol hypothesis of heart disease. That’s because the new drug evacetrapib was just about the perfect medicine. It lowered “bad” LDL cholesterol 37% and also raised “good” HDL cholesterol by 130%. No single drug has ever accomplished such impressive changes in the directions most cardiologists strive for.
The trouble was that despite such stellar numbers there was no benefit in terms of things patients care about. The drug did not reduce cardiovascular events or reduce deaths in high-risk patients.
More Bad News for the Cholesterol Theory:
Dr. Dubroff also points out that:
“Many experts cite numerous RCTs [randomized controlled trials] of statins in support of the cholesterol hypothesis, but we should not ignore the dozens of cholesterol-lowering trials that do not…Even when researchers demonstrate a statin mortality benefit, the findings are underwhelming. A recent analysis concluded that statins would only postpone death by a median of 3.1 and 4.2 days for primary and secondary prevention, respectively.”
That was after years of statin use. For example, the famous 4S study produced survival gains of 27 days after 5.8 years of simvastatin therapy (BMJ Open, Sept. 24, 2015). That extra month of life was in very high-risk patients who either had already experienced a heart attack or were suffering severe symptoms of heart disease. In trials where people were at lower risk of a heart attack, the life-extending potential of statins was substantially less than a month. That was even after years of treatment.
Other Medical Heretics Weigh In on LDL Cholesterol:
Mention the name Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD, to an American cardiologist and you will likely get a scowl. This Danish physician has perturbed drug companies and US cardiologists for years. Together with other colleagues, including cardiologist Michel de Lorgeril, Dr. Ravnskov has challenged the LDL cholesterol concept of heart disease.
One article in particular created a lot of consternation. It was published in the journal Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, Oct. 2018 and was titled:
“LDL-C [Cholesterol] Does Not Cause Cardiovascular Disease: A Comprehensive Review of the Current Literature”
Here are the conclusions:
“The idea that high cholesterol levels in the blood are the main cause of CVD [cardiovascular disease] is impossible because people with low levels become just as atherosclerotic as people with high levels and their risk of suffering from CVD is the same or higher. The cholesterol hypothesis has been kept alive for decades by reviewers who have used misleading statistics, excluded the results from unsuccessful trials and ignored numerous contradictory observations.
“In our analysis of three major reviews, that claim the cholesterol hypothesis is indisputable and that statin treatment is an effective and safe way to lower the risk of CVD, we have found that their statements are invalid, compromised by misleading statistics, excluding unsuccessful trials, minimizing the side effects of cholesterol lowering, and ignoring contradictory observations from independent investigators.”
Please keep in mind that most US cardiologists disagree with Dr. Ravnskov and his colleagues. We are not here to be arbiters of the cholesterol theory of heart disease or make medical recommendations. That is always between a patient and the prescribing physician.
What Does It All Mean?
Cholesterol remains a suspect in heart disease. That said, there are a great many other factors that can increase the risk for heart attacks and strokes. Diet and exercise are cornerstones for good health. An article in JAMA (March 7, 2017) suggested that almost half of the deaths from heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes are related to poor dietary habits.
You can also read our summary of the research at this link:
Statins Aren’t Magic Bullets:
There are many people who benefit from statins. But as the person who shared the story at the top of this article pointed out, there are no guarantees that a statin will always prevent clogged coronary arteries.
No one should ever stop prescription medicine without medical supervision. These days many doctors have adopted the concept of shared decision making. That means that patients should participate in the process of deciding about their treatment program.
To help with that process, we have prepared a Guide to Cholesterol Control and Heart Health. It can be accessed from the Health Guide section of our website. It discusses the risk factor Lp(a) that is rarely mentioned when doctors call for a blood test. What do statins do to Lp(a) levels? You may be surprised.
Share your own statin story below in the comment section.
Kris
Why aren’t triglycerides ever mentioned? I thought high triglycerides lead to clogged arteries? I read that we need LDL for good brain health and it prevents diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
Katharine
When you say that most U.S. doctors disagree with Ravnskov, what it means is that they reject his findings. I have not heard of any who have actually refuted any of his findings, which are based on data and rigorous statistical analysis: they just say no, he’s wrong, without a supporting argument.
American medical education is essentially medieval rather than scientific. Young doctors memorize superbly; they learn to argue logically from fixed premises, but they do not learn to examine the premises; rather, when challenged, they argue by authority: so-and-so said. It’s unsettling, and ironically, it undermines their authority with people who could be convinced by rigorous arguments. People who have noticed their doctor acting authoritative without a clear basis may end up not trusting anything she says, which is a dangerous overreaction; sometimes she knows what she’s talking about and could save your life.
Cynthia
Diet, highly processed food, sugar…. These should be the focus and at an early age
G
A superior alternative to statins is a a whole foods plant based diet. I am 86 and take zero medications. You do not ever post my comments, as their is not money in eating whole foods plant based.
ROBERT
Instead of the end points of so many of these studies being CVC, I wish it would always be all cause mortality. It is great to prevent cardiovascular issues, but in the end I want to know that it will benefit my longevity. If the statins reduce heart related issues, but cause other problems, I want to avoid them.
Lawrence
Google Statins + All Cause Mortality. The research is overwhelming and clear that statins do in fact reduce not only cardiovascular risk but they also extend life. Statins not only reduce LDL cholesterol. They also reduce inflammation, which has been associated with all kinds of health problems, including cardiac problems. I’ve been on statins for almost 30 years with no side effects. I started with crazy cholesterol numbers and high metabolic syndrome risks. While I also maintain a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, I don’t know if I would be here today in my 60s without the statins.
James
The first statin anecdote about the man’s father who walks, golfs and plays tennis and still had a heart attack; you should add exercise to statins as cardioprotective things that don’t work.
Kathy
Thank you for continuing to educate your readers on statins and the cholesterol myth! I have fought my own battles with healthcare providers on pushing statins over the years, as well as my husband’s providers, and now I’m sharing your articles with my 38 yo son whose dr. is pushing the statins. My husband had a heart attack a year ago from his warfarin levels (INR) falling too low and forming clots on his prosthetic mitral valve. Despite this being a mechanical issue and NO lipids profile or any other tests performed in the hospital, the dr prescribed a statin upon discharge, which we declined to fill. It turned out that multiple clots were scattered like birdshot from that initial event, and my husband ended up back in the hospital twice with a perforated bowel, an abscess that encapsulated the perforation and spleen, and massive pleural effusion (plus a third hospitalization for a hemorrhaging spleen). The labs revealed that his cholesterol was almost nonexistent at that point. Thankfully he has recovered well from all of the medical issues, but I believe the statins would have killed him had he taken them.
Ellen
I have a few “age appropriate” blockages, but nothing needing treatment. My LDL is 101. I have autoimmune disease. My internist recommended Statin because one with autoimmune disease should have a LDL closer to 70. Do you have an opinion?
Ronald
My father, who has died from statins, was on them for 15 years, got off eggs, followed doctors advice to the letter. Had to go thru a triple bypass and passed away at 73 years old. My older brother followed my father.
Before my father had his bypass his total cholesterol was at the 190 level. His doctor said he needed to bring it down more to 150 level, and shortly after had to have a double bypass.
Then his doctor said he needed to lower to 100 level, and three years later had to have stents put in from the blockage and lost 20% of his heart.
I, the younger son, refused to stop eating eggs and bacon or get on statins. I am 65 years old with what they claim is high cholesterol of 300. I have no blockage, have no stents, and have been begged to get on statins. No way !!!
Dev
Seattle
This is not saying statins are good for cholesterol; however, I have paroxysmal Afib, and ever since I have beeen taking Crestor, 2.5 mgs, for a month every other day, I have not had Afib. I read that it does have something to do with inflammation which has a lot to do with Afib.
Robert
Knightdale N.C.
I recently had a heart attack,3 weeks ago, and I was following a good but not great diet. I have been doing a lemon, garlic, and ginger concoction that lowered my cholesterol from 225 to 181 in 7 months. However I still had a heart attack with 100 and 95 percent blockages.
I’m on more medicine than I have ever been on in my life. Even though I was never a smoker and exercised regularly, the doctors said my heart attack was purely genetic . I’m 48 and never thought this would happen to me. I’m going to try to get my statin dosage lowered because I feel horrible but I want to live, too. I don’t know what the answers are,but I don’t think doctors know everything either. Good Luck.
Mary
Australia
Interesting previous comments . I was diagnosed with very high cholesterol at 37. (Family history and dad had his first heart attack st 64 died of heart attack at 77)
Tried for years to lower my cholesterol with diet unsuccessfully . In my early 40s I started taking Lipitor just 10 mgs. Now 64 and just had a CT scan showing plaques and very high calcification in coronary arteries . I eat all the suggested foods nuts fish oats and heaps of vegs . Have always cared for my health . I see the cardiologist next week and will be asking some questions .
NOT HAPPY !
Julie
pgh, pa
I’m also working hard to stay healthy and off statins. I have elevated total chol and LDL so on a journey to determine if statin is really going to help me. Very healthy….eat real food and exercise but dad died youngish (61) with massive heart attack.
Yes to magnesium, calcium, and vit D role in preventing heart disease. Also, read about the role of Vitamin K2 (not vitamin K)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566462/.
Chuck
New England
Hi all. I’m 65 and have been very active all my life. I have moderate to severe mitral valve prolapse, but it doesn’t bother me at all, and my cardiologist told me I shouldn’t worry about it. My most recent cholesterol test was much higher than normal (around 270) but I hadn’t been walking or running for a few weeks due to plantar faciitis. (probably spelled wrong) Anyway, My Doctor wants me to start taking 20 mg of Lipitor a day because I had a lower aorta echocardiogram that showed scattered atherosclerosis. I am very reluctant to start taking any statin. My Dad had a mild heart attack at age 65, but lived to 94, and never had another one. He always used to tell me “You’re in better shape than I was at your age”. So I guess my question is, how many people survive a heart attack and never take a statin?
Janice
Miami,Fl
You seem to be on top of your health. If it were me, I always trust my doctors when it comes to my health. I am 60 years old and a breast cancer survivor for almost nine years. I like all my doctors. It’s good to find the doctors you feel comfortable with. ??
Cindy
WI
as for plantar fasciitis – try stretching your calves each night before bed – like get on a stair and stretch them down (not so much up, your legs will be very sore if you do too many) . But stretching downward can help!
Chris T
Ontario
I had a stent put in one month ago. Two other arteries are about 50 and 30 % blocked. They put me on a Year of Brilinta and aspirin and also a statin. I’m 60 and until last month was only on nifedipine which was just a random thing that I was supposed to try while they figured out my pain. I was already off dairy and ate little meat but am now vegan.
I do not smoke and rarely drink. Is there anyone out there that has a recent stent and not taking a statin? This drug is doing things to me that I don’t like. Thanks so much for any input!
EJ
College Station, Tx.
High blood fats run in my father’s family. I had my right carotid artery cleaned out entirely concerning the major portion 7 yrs. ago. Currently I’m on pravastatin 40 mg daily, one EPA fish oil capsule, one 10mg Zetia tab daily and two 500 mg krill oil capsules daily. With all that my blood fats run at the high normal levels in my blood samples. I have a blood chemistry done twice a year just to keep tabs on things as well. I see my Cardiologist for a check up one a year in which he does a ultra sound test on my carotid arteries. For the past 7 years both major carotid have not had any more build up of plaque. In your case I suggest doing what your cardiologist suggests as I do. I hope you do well.
Janice
Miami,Fl
You seem to be on top of your health. If it were me, I always trust my doctors when it comes to my health. I am 60 years old and a breast cancer survivor for almost nine years. I like all my doctors. It’s good to find the doctors you feel comfortable with. ??
Bill
California
Statin use for me has been similar to getting getting off SSRI’S. The Statins cause the Ill feelings while taking them. Getting off or lowering the dose of SSRI’S causes the same feelings the Statins do while on them. Took a while to do the research myself. I have one stent in and believe the blockage was from caused smoking.
Used a vape pen to quit smoking and do not drink alcohol. 19 months on Statins. All blood work was good before Heart event and is all good now. No more vertigo,feelings of ill health every day gone after three days of the stop.Was on 80 mg Statin daily. Ouch. Do the research and talk to your Doc to really get all the input you can before you plunge on any med change. Peace.
Doug
Ny
Early this year 2017 I had a massive heart attack at home. While in the hospital my LAD was 100% blocked and circumflex was 95% blocked. During the 3 hr operation I had another big heart attack. The blockages were hard and he couldn’t get through them. After 3hrs of torture and 3 stents and being awake for the thing. I thought it was over. Well 5 months later at cardiac rehab I was getting weird jaw pain again. Cardiologist and hospital were on site. Here we go again 5 months later more stents 90% blocked LAD. All stents blocked. Another 3 hrs on operating table…2 days in hospital…How could this happen to me ?? I worked out everyday and did tons of cardio and eat pretty clean….5 months how can this happen? Took all the drugs..Bystolic…Effient…Atorvastatin..asprin..Wtf.
Cindy
so sorry Doug! I feel for you with this terrible stress.
Mary
NY
Thank you all for sharing. Upon hospital discharge after the placement of 2 stents I noted one of my new prescriptions was unfamiliar. I asked about it and was told it was to prevent new deposits from building up inside the stents. When I got a good look at the name and saw it ended in “statin” I remembered I had heard enough bad stuff about the group to decide not to take any in the past, but I had forgotten why.
Plenty of reason, I see. My aim is always to get off and stay off all drugs, especially prescription drugs. They have to be considered potential poisons, because if no risk of serious harm were associated with them they would be available over the counter.
So now I have to find out what mischief the beta blocker can do. Thanks again. Love, Princess
Jim
Florida
Years of overdosing on Simvastatin has left me with type 2 diabetes and vascular parkinsonism. Don’t kid yourself. Statins are poison for lot of us. What I don’t understand is why all these crackpot cardiologists are so anxious to do us in.
Cindy
I really don’t think cardiologists are trying to do anyone in – they really believe in these meds and get on autopilot with AMA guidelines, AHA, etc.
Mike
I fear you are too trusting Cindy – I agree that “cardiologists are (not) trying to do anyone in..” – but many simply don’t care and see patients as irrelevant and dispensable when they are filling their bank accounts by dispensing useless or damaging drugs. Many experts from the world’s top independent universities like Oxford, Salamaca, Berlin etc. have been warning about statins for years – but everybody is free to make their own mistakes.
Mike
Ireland
Money, Jim – money – pure and simple – the multi-billion dollar nexus of evil between the medical and parmaceutical industries is encapsulated (pardon the pun) in the gigantic statins con – I wouldn’t touch them if they paid me rather than vice versa.
Ginger
Wilmington NC
I will never go on a statin drug because of research I’ve gotten from People’s Pharmacy. I have high blood pressure & my total cholesterol looks high, even though my HDL is great. My cardiologist did a test on my blood and it showed that my cholesterol particles were mostly the big bouncy kind. It’s the small sticky particles you have to worry about clumping together & causing blockages. I love my cardiologist- he explains things so I can understand. He told me to NOT let my primary physician put me on a statin.
Cathy
Wilmington NC
Ginger, not sure how I even found this site, but thankfully I did. I also live in Wilmington and am dealing with genetic heart issues – blocked arteries! I now live with anxiety and fear of a heart attack as I refuse to take statins. Would love to chat with you about your cardiologist, etc. if interested. I currently take aged garlic extract, hawthorn berry as well as CoQ10 and Fish Oil, hoping these all help. I am very frustrated as I live very holistically but this monster that looms over my every waking moment is causing too much anxiety.
Nu
PA
Fish oil supplements do nothing. Unless you find a benefit in belching up fish.
Craig W
Bangor Maine
I’m not sure what this article is stating about statins. How can you infer that statins didn’t help ” Dad’s coronary arteries”. As you know statins not only reduce cholesterol but aid in the reduction of the inflammatory process. Maybe Dad’s arteries would have occluded at a much faster rate if he were not on statins. Where is the science behind this.
ladyliza
We have all been duped by the statin industry. My mother was on Zocor when I saw her blood test results and her cholesterol was normal. She was in so much pain. I mad e the doctor take her off the drugs and within 3 weeks her pain was gone. Her blood tests results remained good. She was only eating fish and vegetables in her 90’s.
I suspect the doctor was receiving a kickback. Propublica.com offers for free a database that shows if your doctor is receiving money from a pharmaceutical company. Check out your doctors!
Renee
IA
This link is for hotel reservations, world wide, in German.
Margie
Houston
Of course this article does not even go into the fact that you may suffer from the side effects of statins such as decreased mobility, muscle pain, diabetes etc. even while you are not gaining a substantial decrease in cardiac disease. I question the risk/benefit.
Nancy E.
NC
My husband was/is on statins since the 1990’s. Imagine my shock when his heart cath showed he needed 5 by-passes. I told the doctor, something is missing.
William
Camano Island Washington
I’m a Lipitor Diabetic. Three months after I started Lipitor I was Diagnosed as Diabetic. My blood Sugars were up more than One Hundred Points. We have Type Two Diabetes in my family history. Before Lipitor I was recording blood sugar readings of Ninety-Nine to One Hundred. Within Three Months of starting Lipitor I recorded Two Hundred or Higher readings. I asked My Doctor Why He didn’t tell Me the Lipitor would raise My Blood Sugar levels. His reply was,”Would You rather Die of Heart attack or Diabetes”! I’ve stopped taking Lipitor and My Blood Sugar Readings have returned to Pre Lipitor levels.
Kelly
Texas
This is food for thought. The study results are underwhelming and do call into question the need for statins. I’m still curious about what role adherence play in statin failure? Are poor outcomes associated with lack of compliance or simple failure of the medication?
Teresa
Waco, TX
I am surprised there was no mention of artery calcification due to the lack of properly balancing magnesium, calcium and vitamin D. For years post menopausal women were instructed to take 1200 to 1500 mgs of calcium to strengthen bones and prevent osteoporosis but there was no mention of how important magnesium plays in that equation.
This has been a travesty for so many women in my generation (age 66) who do not understand this issue much less know about it. So many women are taking too much calcium supplementation along with bone building prescriptions which over time results in artery calcification throughout the body including three brain. My 91 year old Mom just passed and I saw her go thru this process for 15 years…dementia (MRI showed calcification throughout her brain and a stroke (70% of her right carotid artery was blocked with calcification which the surgeon removed).
By the time I learned about magnesium’s benefits, it was too late for her. Please discuss this in your blogs and refer your readers to Dr. Carolyn Dean’s websites as I have seen her name mentioned before in your blogs. She and her Completement Formulas have made my life worth living again. Thanks for all you guys do as well as I thoroughly enjoy your website and products.
Teresa
Waco, Tx
Deloris
I took 10 mg simvastatin for about a year and half and ended up with shortness of breath caused by calcification in my coronary arteries. I didn’t have any serious heart issues before this. While I didn’t have a heart attack, I needed to have 3 stents inserted. Arterial calcification is an under-reported statin side effect. I believe my condition was aggravated because I also took a calcium channel blocker (5 mg amlodipine) at the same time I took the statin. It should be noted that a CCB prevents calcium from entering the cells and that statins deplete Vitamin K which directs excess calcium in the bloodstream to the bones. The FDA only warns that the drug combination is dangerous when high doses of simvastatin are prescribed, saying that the CCB increases the statin’s effectiveness. I think the combination is far more complicated than this.
Pat
I sure hope you got a new Doctor also. Good Luck!
Julie
Hazlet, NJ
How can we find Direct Testing Labs in out areas?
Cindy
not sure what’s in your area, but there are a lot of private labs now – my private one charges $60 for a full cholesterol panel.
Sandra E
Sioux Falls, SD
As Howard N posted, the book The Great Cholesterol Myth spells out in great detail how statins do nothing to prevent heart disease.The real culprits are sugar, stress, inflammation and oxidation. Keep up the good work letting us all know that statins do nothing.
joan
Has anyone ever thought that stating can cause a heart attack? Our primary physician put my husband on a stating some years ago. He was overweight and everything pointed to clogged arteries. The thought was that at 67 the stain would slow things down. He was on the statin….I think it was lipitor….for 3 days.
One night, he was complaining of muscle pain. Cramps in his legs and befoRe you know it he had severe chest pain. He had a heart attack. The heart is a muscle and stating are known to cause muscle pain. So the primary physician sent him to a cardiologist who insisted the statin could not have caused the heart attack. He tried another statin, same thing. Leg cramps. And so he tried crestor. Even that caused the leg cramps.
My husband said no more. I’ll take my chances. And he did. 3 and a half years ago and 12 years after the first stating he had a heart valve replaced. At that time Drs saw 4 clogged arteries and replaced them. That was his demise. He had been under anesthesia for almost 7 hours. When he came home he was fine for a couple of months. Then he started forgetting things. Big things.
We took him to a neurologist and she said, we often see these problems s after being under anesthesia for a long time. He had dementia. He lived about another 9 months. It was awful, for him and his family. His life ended with a major stroke. This all started with statins. I’ve learned a big lesson from this. No statins for me. I am 77 the same age my husband was when he died.
roger
waxhaw, nc
In November, my wife and I watched THE SCIENCE OF NATURAL HEALING from Great Courses. The cardiologist speaker stressed more vegetables, etc. I thought “I can do that”. As a 75 year old that has survived 2 heart attacks, bypass, and 4 stents, there was reason to try. So, to test myself stopped taking all pill drugs–4 including statin, zetia, metformin. Kept taking insulin.
About 70 days later next blood test. Weight down from 205 to 193. circulating blood sugar–from A1c down from 211– 2 years ago, and 160 previous blood test, to 139. So, normal A1c. BUT, cholestrol jumped 40 percent. Now, back on statin and continuing mainly vege diet. Reading a summary by Doc Gumshoe, metformin works better than any other pill or combination of pills. Considering whether to start that one again.
Gail
Tx
I had been on a small dose of statin drug for many years but developed severe muscular pain and was instructed to stop by my rheumatologist. The pain decreased. I have always wondered if sugars cd be contributing to the increased cholesterol.
J. David Auner
Springfield, MO, USA
Statins reduce risk of progressive vascular disease 20 to 30% in most patients. Exercise helps another 15 to 20% depending on how done. Somebody at higher risk levels with an American diet likely needs to do 6 things to avoid progressive vascular disease and inflammation to change their outcome. “Multiple risk reduction” is the term Family docs and the Federal Gov’t use for the more aggressive approach – needless to say few docs can get this done with 4 minutes of face time twice a year. Insulin resistant people also only get a 15% reduction in vascular risk from excellent glucose level control – diabetics have risk similar to people who have already had a vascular event and vascular disease is how most diabetics die.
Ed
14227
The terms “good diet” and “healthy diet” are bandied about in these kind of studies without regard to specificity. As Drs. Esselstyn an McDougal point out, repeatedly, statins will NOT overcome an unhealthy diet. Doing a study, allowing greater than 10% fat ingestion, is not a legitimate evaluation of statins and/or cholesterol.
Please consider having Dr. Esselstyn or Dr. McDougal on your radio show to present an alternative evaluation of what, exactly, constitutes a “healthy diet”, and what effect(s) a “healthy diet” would have had when applied in the studies of the effect(s) of cholesterol buildup in the body.
Edward H. Maziarz
ebmsystems@aol.com
Paul
NY
“Statins reduce risk of progressive vascular disease 20 to 30%” that is the relative number,the absolute number is less than 1%.
Study up on relative vs absolute risk you’ll be amazed how big Pharma plays with the numbers and our health.
Val
Portland, OR
I have been on simvistatin for over 7 years now. And although the statin did lower my bad cholesterol, the major reduction came only after I began deep water aerobics 5 times a week.
Bill
Fort Worth Texas
In non-academic language:
Lipids are the bicycle tire patch on the tear of inner tube, not the cause of the tear itself.
The tear is caused by a multitude of factors which I outlined in my PhD paper.
Dore
MI
You said “there are many people who truly benefit from statins” who are they? I’m being pressured to take one.
Howard N.
FL
As Stephen Sinatra, MD, mentioned on a past People’s Pharmacy show, it’s inflammation in the body that’s causing heart attacks and strokes, yet how many doctors test THAT? He recommends two important blood tests: C Reactive Protein and Homocysteine. If both of those levels are higher than optimal level (over 0.8 mg/dL and over 9.0 umol/L, respectively), you could have LOW cholesterol, but have clogged arteries and be at significant risk of a heart attack or stroke at any time!
Most doctors will not order those two tests when asked because they are not trained in what to do with the results. I get them both tested for only $37 total at a walk-in “direct testing lab”, which most states allow. For recommendations on how to lower above-optimal levels, I trust information from Dr. Sinatra, Dr. Julian Whitaker, and Life Extension.
Thank you, Joe and Terry, for continuing to get the word out about the “cholesterol myth,” as Dr. Sinatra calls it–you are truly saving lives!
Liz
Houston, TX
Howard, your comment that ‘most doctors will not order those two tests when asked because they are not trained in what to do with the results’ is a topic in and of itself. I believe inflammation is the key. It’s just so hard to believe that it’s 2017 and we don’t have an answer as to what to do with the test results. Thank you Howard and People’s Pharma
Julie
North Carolina
I was on a statin drug for several years when I suddenly developed elevated blood sugar. This was after I had just read about a possible link between statins and developing type 2 diabetes. When I mentioned this to my doctor she acted like my concerns were ridiculous and her exact words were, “I have plenty of diabetic patients who take statins.” She did not recognize the irony of her statement. I refuse to take statins anymore. They gave me brain fog. I eat a healthy diet, am at an acceptable weight, and have no other risk factors for heart disease. I think these drugs are over prescribed.
Gale
Maryland
I had the same experience on 10 mg of Simvastatin. As soon as I started taking the drug, my blood sugars went way up. The doctor kept saying the benefits out way the side effects. Finally this past December, I decided it was time to stop taking it and see if there were any changes in my aching body. Within two weeks, I felt like a new person. The arthritis in my hands is still there, but I can move much more comfortably. As an added surprise, the vertigo I have been dealing with for over 4 years is almost gone. After some research, found there is a side effect with statins and vertigo. And now, I can walk up the steps and driveway without feeling like I am out of breath. My rapid heartbeat also went away. Will never, ever take a statin again.
Thai
I don’t know where you live, but my doctors with Sutter Health in N. Calif. always test Homocysteine and CRP at my yearly physical, and I do understand what each represents. Years ago when I was much younger (about 50 yrs old and at low risk of heart problems due to lifestyle, diet, heredity, good weight, etc.) and asked about testing for these factors, my doctor readily added them to my yearly physical.
gary
Costa Rica
I read an article about eight years ago that discussed the term “number needed to treat”. It appears to be the equivalent term of “absolute risk reduction”. That article also pointed out that the number of people needed to take statins, in relation to an actual positive impact on reduction of heart attacks was astronomical. Closer to 2980 to 1. I would be interested to learn of other studies supporting the argument that statin prescriptions are written to support Big Pharma, and not actually prevent heart attacks.