The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association say many, many more of us need these worthless and perhaps dangerous drugs. The nation’s “top” cardiologists and most respected heart association want to dramatically expand the diagnostic criteria that “warrant” the use of statin drugs so that instead of a measly 36 million Americans using these drugs, we’ll have 72 million—doubling the drug companies’ profits overnight. What a windfall!
Let’s follow the money:
Never mind that statin drugs cause a wide variety of side effects, including liver dysfunction, increased cancer risk, memory loss and immune system depression.
Never mind that there are more than 7000 scientific papers documenting the dangers of statin drugs and more than 900 studies confirm truly disturbing adverse effects of taking these drugs.
Never mind that recent research confirms that statin may actually impair blood sugar control, ironic since they are routinely prescribed for people with diabetes.
Never mind that they cost anywhere from $12 to $500 a month.
It seems that the paramount motivation is to increase drug companies’ already astronomical profits. Is there no end to greed?
Never mind that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease. What is important is the ratio of your total cholesterol to your “good” HDL cholesterol and the ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol.
Never mind that many people taking statin drugs lower their cholesterol to dangerous levels, which is the cause of liver problems among other health issues.
The human body needs cholesterol. It is essential to the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that digest fat. Cholesterol is essential to brain function, memory formation and all other neurological functions.
There is substantial evidence that low cholesterol levels like the ones frequently found in people on statins increase the risk of cancer, memory loss, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, depression, hormonal imbalances, violent behavior and suicide.
If you are taking statin drugs, you must take coenzyme Q10. Your doctor is unlikely to tell you this because he/she may not know. However, numerous studies prove that statin drugs deplete the body’s natural stores on CoQ10, which has many functions, among them telling your heart to beat. How sadly ironic it would be to die of sudden cardiac arrest caused by a drug designed to protect you from heart disease.
The drug companies have been attempting to increase the reach of statin drugs for years. Among the ploys: de-regulating them so prescriptions are no longer required, making flavored chewable forms attractive to children and giveaways at drug stores. That doesn’t even touch on the widespread campaign to convince doctors that everyone needs statins.
It seems that this part worked for the drug companies.
The new recommendations say that statin drugs are the most effective tool for preventing heart attacks and strokes:
They’re adding those considered to have a 7.5% chance of having a heart attack or stroke in the next decade (down from former guidelines of a 20% chance in a decade);
They’re adding anyone who has already had a heart attack or stroke;
And anyone between the ages of 40 and 75 with Type 2 diabetes;
And anyone with exceptionally high LDL (bad) cholesterol levels due to family genes.
I can almost hear those cash registers ringing. Ka-ching!
This is a coup of epic proportions for Big Pharma, but not much
good for us.
By the way, enlightened doctors agree that there is one good reason for statin use: It can really help the 1% of the population that has an inherited trait that results in chronically high LDL cholesterol.
And if you don’t aren’t sure if your are taking a statin drug, here’s a list of brand names:
Advicor® (niacin extended-release/lovastatin)
Altoprev® (lovastatin extended-release)
Caduet® (amlodipine and atorvastatin)
Crestor® (rosuvastatin)
Juvisync® (sitagliptin/simvastatin)
Lescol® (fluvastatin)
Lescol XL (fluvastatin extended-release)
Lipitor® (atorvastatin)
Liptruzet™ (ezetimibe/atorvastatin)
Livalo® (pitavastatin)
Mevacor® (lovastatin)
Pravachol® (pravastatin)
Simcor® (niacin extended-release/simvastatin)
Vytorin® (ezetimibe/simvastatin)
Zocor® (simvastatin).
You can naturally lower cholesterol by eliminating grains and sugar from your diet, getting plenty of heart healthy fats with a diet, optimizing your vitamin D levels, managing stress, avoiding smoking, getting plenty of exercise and sufficient deep restorative sleep.
I have begged, nagged, and pleaded with my husband not to take statins because his recent stroke was not due to plaque in the arteries, there were no blockages, and his cholesterol was not high. His stroke was caused by a blood disorder, Essential Thrombocythemia. But, his doctor showed him test results that have his LDL-P High, meaning that his ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol is on the bad side. So, the doc persuaded him that even doctors take statins as a preventative for strokes. So, he is taking it. I am going to get a CoQ10 supplement, but, I think I read a study that was released recently that said that taking CoQ10 supplement didn’t seem to help with the depletion.
Hi Stephanie, I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s stroke. Not being a medical professional, I’m not familiar with his blood disorder, but I can say that everyone who takes statins should take coQ10. Yes, many doctors do take statins themselves. They are not bad people and they believe the drug company sales pitch, so much so that they jeopardize their own health.Stay tuned. I’ll be writing about statins and cognitive function soon.
I have begged, nagged, and pleaded with my husband not to take statins because his recent stroke was not due to plaque in the arteries, there were no blockages, and his cholesterol was not high. His stroke was caused by a blood disorder, Essential Thrombocythemia. But, his doctor showed him test results that have his LDL-P High, meaning that his ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol is on the bad side. So, the doc persuaded him that even doctors take statins as a preventative for strokes. So, he is taking it. I am going to get a CoQ10 supplement, but, I think I read a study that was released recently that said that taking CoQ10 supplement didn’t seem to help with the depletion.
Hi Stephanie, I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s stroke. Not being a medical professional, I’m not familiar with his blood disorder, but I can say that everyone who takes statins should take coQ10. Yes, many doctors do take statins themselves. They are not bad people and they believe the drug company sales pitch, so much so that they jeopardize their own health.Stay tuned. I’ll be writing about statins and cognitive function soon.