For many years, Statin drugs have been used to lower the cholesterol levels in the blood. This method, has in fact shown to reduce several health risks including heart attack and stroke. Many individuals were given these drugs to help reduce issues that may lead to a heart attack and stroke.
The Results of Statin Drugs
In recent studies, many people have had their risk of heart attack, stroke, and death reduced by 25 to 35 percent. For recurring heart attacks and strokes, these numbers have increased to 40%.
Who Can Take Statin Drugs?
Statin Drugs were designed with the purpose of lowering cholesterol in the blood. With many take these drugs to lower their risk of heart attack, stroke, and the increased possibility of death from these causes. More than 15 million American people are taking Statin drugs to reduce their risk for a heart attack. Along with this number, usp to 20 million people should be taking the drug based off their tested results for heart disease.
How Do Statin Drugs Help Prevent Heart Disease?
Statin Drugs work in the sense that they act as a shield and block the liver enzymes responsible for making cholesterol. If too much too cholesterol builds up in the blood, it starts to stick against the artery walls. If this keeps occurring, eventually, the artery walls will become narrow and thin. Because of these thinning arteries, blood begins to clot, which can result in a heart attack or a stroke.
This is when Statin comes into play. The Statin drug can lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood which can prevent any cholesterol from attaching to the artery walls. This drug can also play a role in stabilizing the plaques in the arteries. While there are several side effects that can take place while taking Statin, you can try to maintain a healthy lifestyle while taking the drug.
A few things you can do include getting enough exercise, eating healthy, monitor and reduce your alcohol intake, and it is also best not to smoke.
The Side Effect of Statin Drugs
With each person, they have a different experience when taking Statin drugs. One person may have a bad experience, while another may end up perfectly fine. Some people may experience some side effects while taking this drug. The most common side effects associated with Statin drugs include difficulty sleeping, flushing skin, headaches, diarrhea, rash, constipation, drowsiness, and a few other subtle side effects.
Some of the more intense side effects that result from this drug include high blood confusion, type 2 diabetes, mental confusion, and memory loss.
Statin also may contain a few rarer, but severe symptoms. These include mitosis, which is the inflation of the muscles, increased CPK levels, or Rhabdomyolysis, which can cause extreme muscle inflammation and damage.
Who Should Not Take Statin Drugs
There are several people that may benefit from Statin drugs, but there are also some that should not take the drug and should notify their doctor of any condition before taking the drug. These people include those who are experienced unexplained muscle or joint point while taking Statin drugs. If this occurs, the individual should contact their doctor immediately, they should not stop taking the drug unless the doctor tells them to. If you are pregnant or have any type of liver condition, you should not even consider taking Statin drugs. You also need to notify your doctor of any other pills you are taking, whether it is a vitamin, medicine, or any other pill.
Other factors that would prevent someone from taking any Statin drugs would be if you are already taking any other cholesterol lowering drugs, if you are a female, if you have a smaller body frames, being age 65 or older, pre-existing liver problems, or if you drink too much alcohol.
What Statin Drugs May You Be Prescribed?
If your doctor is considering prescribing a Statin drug for you, there are a few that you may be prescribed. These include Lipitor, Livalo, Mevacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Lescol, Crestor. These Statin drugs are approved for the US. An estimated 17 million people have been prescribed this medicine since the drugs initial arrival into the US market.
Specific Statin Drug Side Effects
Along with the side effects mentioned above, a few more side effects users may experience could include muscle pain and damage, which could potentially be a lifelong effect that users must deal with. Another effect could be liver damage, this occurs when the drug increases specific enzymes that cause the liver to inflate. This symptom is a rare one, but your doctor should request a liver function test after you have been taking the Statin drug to ensure that your liver is working properly. It is possible that a user can also develop type 2 diabetes which is a rather serious issue to develop. This is possible due to the blood sugar levels increasing as the Statin drug is being taken. For those that already have diabetes, the drug can help reduce the risk of a heart attack. This drug may also cause significant neurological conditions that can affect memory. Any worrisome symptoms should be noted by your doctor immediately to prevent anything from becoming worse.
Beverages and Other Drugs That May Cause Side Effects
There are several pre-existing and physical conditions that may cause effects from Statin drugs, but some food and beverages may also cause effects. Some include grapefruit juice because of a chemical that interferes with the enzymes.
Some drugs that should be avoided while taking Statin drugs are Amiodarone, Gemfibrozil, Invirase, Biaxin, and Gengraf.
What Causes a Statin Side Effect?
These side effects can be caused by various reasons. Your body makes the necessary cholesterol it needs when digesting food. This process is slowed by the Statin drug and when your body’s natural production is slowed down, things may not go as planned. Instead, your body begins to take the cholesterol it needs from the food you eat. So, Statin can affect the liver or it could also affect the enzymes within the muscle cells, which is why the drug may cause muscle pain. Which needs to be addressed to a doctor immediately.
Relieving the Pain from Statin Side Effects
If the Statin drug does happen to bring side effects and pain, there are ways to cope with it. These include switching drugs, temporarily stop taking the drug with your doctor’s permission, try a supplement, or change the amount of the drug you take. These options need to be considered with your doctor, so the best decision can be made.
The Evidence in Side Effects from Statins
A recent study showed that for every 10,000-people taking Statin, 300 of them had cataracts, 23 experienced acute kidney failure, and 74 had liver failure. Another 30% experienced muscle fatigue, while others were diagnosed with cancer and diabetes.
Alternative Options
While there are several options you can choose from rather than Statin, this needs to be discussed with your doctor. If they believe that you can benefit from Statin, but you don’t particularly like the idea, discuss other options. There are several other cholesterols- lowering drugs in the market that may suit an individual better, but they must be aware of what each drug does and how it may affect their health. If drugs are not something that interest an individual with heart disease or with the risk of developing heart disease, there may be other natural options such as eating a healthy, balanced diet, get plenty of sleep, exercise often, and practice other healthy habits daily. These can include reducing the amount you smoke, drink, or consumer certain foods.
Taking Statin Can Increase the Need for Supplements
Someone that is taking Statin may need a supplement, this supplement is called CoQ10. This is used to provide energy within every cell of your body. If this is reduced within your body, the results could be very negative and cause a lot of problems. While Statin is prescribed with the intention of reducing the risk of heart disease, by depleting the amount of CoQ10 in your body, it is doing quite the opposite. So, it is recommended that Statin users take CoQ10 to prevent this from happening. Many users are unaware on the additional steps they may need to take when taking this drug. It is not as simple as taking the drug and going on with your daily routine. You may also need to add supplements, monitor your health, and keep track of your exercise and eating habits throughout the day to make sure nothing counteracts the medication, and that you are helping yourself and not hurting yourself. It takes a little bit of effort on the user’s part to make sure this drug works properly. While side effects often happen without any notice or reasoning, they could be a result of a poor lifestyle.
Another supplement that users may consider taking is Vitamin K2. This vitamin is essential in protecting your arteries from becoming clogged. For those that are deficient in this vitamin, it may leave them with worse arteries. The plaque will fill the arteries much quicker. So, while Statin is trying to prevent the arteries from clogging, by depleting vitamin K2, it is reversing this effect. Therefore, Statin users may want to take K2 if they are taking the drug to prevent this from happening.
These two vitamins are essential in Statin users. While the doctors may or may not tell the user this, it is important that anyone does the necessary research before taking any drug to be aware of any potential side effects and conditions that may occur.
Often, users will simply ignore their side effects and disregard them, but it is important that the user reports any unusual or different changes in their body immediately to prevent anything severe or permanently damaging from happening.
Deciding What Statin Drug Is Best for You
This part is mainly up to your doctor and can be based off your current health, along with any other factors that may play a role. While there are many drugs to choose from, they are individually different in their own ways and each drug should be prescribed specific to the user. Often, doctors choose to prescribe the most common type of Statin because they know that the drug has had proven affects. This may not work for everyone and in certain circumstances, the drug may need to be changed if the user is having any issues with it such as side effects or failure to see any results from the drug. Switching drugs is usually a simple process. The doctor will likely have a follow- up to determine whether the drug is having any effect on the patient or not, whether it is positive or negative.
For those interested in taking Statin drugs, it is essential to know about Statin drugs in general and their side effects, as well as each individual drug and what that drug can do to you. It is important to ask any questions you may have, and be aware that not all doctors are completely educated on every drug. You may have to share some knowledge with your doctor if they may not be aware. It is important to the user’s health that they know what to look for and what they are putting in their body to prevent any further complications or side effects from occurring. It is also important to remember that just because one person has a good experience with the drug does not mean that every user will have the same good experience.
Statin has complication with other food, beverages, and drugs that can potentially affect the way the drug works, this is something that users should always take into consideration.
