Statins
A brief digest about this topic
Statins are drugs used to lower cholesterol. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries, narrowing or even blocking them.
If diet and exercise don't reduce your cholesterol levels, you may need to take medicine. Often, this medicine is a statin. Statins interfere with the production of cholesterol in your liver. They lower bad cholesterol levels and raise good cholesterol levels and can slow the formation of plaques in your arteries.
Statins are relatively safe for most people. But they are not recommended for pregnant patients or those with active or chronic liver disease. They can also cause serious muscle problems. Some statins also interact adversely with other drugs. You may have fewer side effects with one statin drug than another.
Researchers are also studying the use of statins for other conditions.
Food and Drug Administration
Provided by: NIH - National Institute of Health
Links shared publicly online about this topic
Statins
priory.com — “Review article on the wisdom of widespread prescription of statins.” View full resource at priory.com
Most Recently Shared on September 9, 2009 at 1:55 pm By:
Statins for Everyone? Read more at: http://www.priory.com/medicine/Statins.htm
Dr. Sinatra To Statin or Not To Statin
drsinatra.com — “It seems the more that--™s written on statins, the more confused people get. Well, my position is that statins have their place, but are often inappropriately overprescribed by physicians. For people with established heart disease, statins can be a true blessing and add years to their lives. But the current overprescribing of statins for patients who merely have high cholesterol may actually be raising the incidence of heart failure.” View full resource at drsinatra.com
Most Recently Shared on December 14, 2010 at 7:33 pm By:
Dr. Stephen Sinatra Cardiologist, Nutritionist, Physician, Doctor, and Internist
Should you be taking that #statin? If you have high #cholesterol, but are otherwise healthy, prob not. Here's why: http://ow.ly/3p97w #CoQ10
Statin preloading
theheart.org — “In one trial, an atorvastatin reload given to statin-treated patients 12 hours prior to PCI reduced the risk of major adverse coronary events, while another showed that atorvastatin 80 mg loaded 24 hours prior to PCI in statin-naive patients reduced the incidence of periprocedural MI.” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on March 30, 2009 at 9:10 pm By:
heartwire #acc09 Studies support statin preloading, even a statin reload, prior to PCI http://tinyurl.com/c963lb
Statins in infection
theheart.org — “Results from a new meta-analysis show the pleiotropic effects of statins are useful in the treatment and prevention of different infections, including bacteremia, pneumonia, and sepsis.” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on October 15, 2009 at 7:14 pm By:
heartwire: Can statins prevent and treat infection? http://bit.ly/23zA9D
Adherence to statins
theheart.org — “Increasing adherence to 75% would prevent twice as many deaths when compared with giving the drugs to a wider range of patients, according to investigators.” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on January 12, 2010 at 12:09 am By:
Improving adherence better than lower thresholds for maximizing statin benefits http://bit.ly/7pQl0k #heartwire
Women and statins
theheart.org — “While some question whether the evidence is strong enough, particularly given the lower absolute risk in women compared with men, most experts believe that the lipid-lowering medications have undeniable value in women.” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on March 29, 2010 at 11:33 pm By:
Tammi Jacobs Health Professional
Time magazine questions statin risks and benefits in women, but experts say ... http://bit.ly/9KNPyH
Women and statins
theheart.org — “UPDATED // While some question whether the evidence is strong enough, particularly given the lower absolute risk in women compared with men, most experts believe that the lipid-lowering medications have undeniable value in women.” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on March 29, 2010 at 9:43 pm By:
Time magazine questions statin risks and benefits in women, but experts say drugs safe and effective: While ... http://bit.ly/ba2f0T #ACC10
Statins 101
hearthealthyonline.com — “The use of statins to lower cholesterol and prevent a heart attack.” View full resource at hearthealthyonline.com
Most Recently Shared on April 12, 2010 at 7:50 pm By:
Susan Scroggins Health Advocate and Active Health Library
What you should know about statins: who needs them, side effects, and other info. http://bit.ly/bbwJ74
Statin Guide
hearthealthyonline.com — “The cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may not be perfect, but they are saving lives.” View full resource at hearthealthyonline.com
Most Recently Shared on April 14, 2010 at 6:05 am By:
Susan Scroggins Health Advocate and Active Health Library
Are you taking statins to control high cholesterol? Know all the facts. http://bit.ly/d0glr3
The Statin Scam
spacedoc.net — “During my career as a surgeon I performed over 5000 coronary bypass operations. I left the surgery that I loved to speak the truth about heart disease, inflammation, statin medications, and the current methods of treating heart disease.” View full resource at spacedoc.net
Most Recently Shared on January 27, 2011 at 12:20 am By:
Statins and prostate cancer
health.harvard.edu — “Statins and prostate cancer” View full resource at health.harvard.edu
Most Recently Shared on June 16, 2009 at 5:50 pm By:
Statins and prostate cancer - http://bit.ly/CcdhB
Should children take statins?
healthcentral.com — “Should children take statins?” View full resource at healthcentral.com
Most Recently Shared on July 28, 2009 at 1:12 pm By:
healthcentral: Should children take statins? http://tinyurl.com/lzkkyz Full http://tinyurl.com/lgksfy
Statins for rheumatic valve disease?
theheart.org — “A new retrospective echocardiography study has shown, for the first time, that statins might reduce the progression of aortic-valve stenosis caused by rheumatic heart disease. But the findings require confirmation, says an accompanying editorial.” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on May 11, 2009 at 9:39 pm By:
heartwire: First hint of a benefit for statins in rheumatic valve disease http://bit.ly/hobmX
Quick effects of statins
theheart.org — “Initiating statin therapy following an acute coronary syndrome resulted in a significant reduction in coronary atheroma volume after just six weeks, showing that the lipid-lowering drugs act quickly on atherosclerotic plaques.” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on September 15, 2009 at 9:32 pm By:
heartwire: Newly initiated statin therapy after ACS reduces plaque burden within six weeks http://bit.ly/UVk2b
Statins in primary prevention
theheart.org — “Individuals who took their medication at least 90% of the time had a 45% reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality compared with less adherent patients, and this benefit was observed in both primary and secondary patient populations, research shows. (Shalev V et al. Arch Intern Med 2009; 169:260-268.)” View full resource at theheart.org
Most Recently Shared on February 10, 2009 at 10:34 pm By:
Statin adherence associated with lower all-cause mortality, even in primary prevention http://tinyurl.com/bfjqzr
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Featuring the top 3 experts for this topic
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RN.com
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Dr. Stephen Sinatra
Leading cardiologist and nutritionist. Info on heart disease, heart health, total wellness from Dr. Sinatra & his team.
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Shelley Wood
Managing editor for heartwire on theheart.org--the most authoritative, balanced, and insightful cardiovascular disease news online. http://is.gd/nHJ4
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