Anybody on Statin Drugs?

[Mountain Man]

I recently had my annual physical with my primary care doctor. My numbers were perfect, 26 BMI, cholesterol 173, blood pressure 110/78, resting pulse 54. I was shocked when my doctor emailed me after and said that I had a 12.5% risk of heart attack and that I should be on a statin drug. She prescribed Lipitor. When I called and inquired why, as all my numbers were good, she told me that I had two major risk factors. One is that I am 68 years old and the other is that I am a male. No other risk factors. I’m wondering how many guys here over the age of 65 have been prescribed a statin drug. Naturally, I refused this but I am wondering how many guys here have been told the same thing because of age and gender that we are at risk for heart attack and need to be on a statin?

 

[tareload]

I recently had my annual physical with my primary care doctor. My numbers were perfect, 26 BMI, cholesterol 173, blood pressure 110/78, resting pulse 54. I was shocked when my doctor emailed me after and said that I had a 12.5% risk of heart attack and that I should be on a statin drug. She prescribed Lipitor. When I called and inquired why, as all my numbers were good, she told me that I had two major risk factors. One is that I am 68 years old and the other is that I am a male. No other risk factors. I’m wondering how many guys here over the age of 65 have been prescribed a statin drug. Naturally, I refused this but I am wondering how many guys here have been told the same thing because of age and gender that we are at risk for heart attack and need to be on a statin?

Post your lipids-c / NMR data. What is your trig/hdl-c ratio? LDL-p?

cRP / any other inflammation markers measured?

I am missing something.

Statins are overprescribed for primary prevention, study suggests - ProQuest

Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

www.proquest.com

https://www.peertechzpublications.com/articles/JCMC-7-202.pdf

Statin wars: have we been misled about the evidence? A narrative review | British Journal of Sports Medicine

bjsm.bmj.com

Statin therapy increases lipoprotein(a) levels

AbstractAims. Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is elevated in 20–30% of people. This study aimed to assess the effect of statins on Lp(a) levels.Methods and results.

academic.oup.com

Mechanisms of statin-associated skeletal muscle-associated symptoms

Statins lower the serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular events by inhibiting 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase.…

www.sciencedirect.com

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

Dr. Kendrick did a post about this exact issue. The guidelines have become so corrupted that everyone eventually falls into the statin category. Sounds like a bad doctor. And then there's this...

20 Heart-Healthy Actions With Better Risk/Reward Than Statins

Here at Excelmale there are frequent posts discussing the pros and cons of statins, and one in particular several weeks ago where a position paper was cited where the assumption was that statins are not only a viable option but should be the first line of defense against heart disease. As I have...

www.excelmale.com

 

[t_spacemonkey]

I told my pharma rep ('doc') to stop bothering me with cholesterol levels.
those people truly want you sick. they even recommended bumping my seed oil consumption. fuck those people.
I take every single thing they tell me as a lie, unless proven otherwise.
last time I went in she told me 'you look tan, are you using sunscreen'? I felt like throwing that lady out the window. I do spent 2h each day full body sun peak UV time.
/rant over

 

[Mountain Man]

Dr. Kendrick did a post about this exact issue. The guidelines have become so corrupted that everyone eventually falls into the statin category. Sounds like a bad doctor. And then there's this...

20 Heart-Healthy Actions With Better Risk/Reward Than Statins

Here at Excelmale there are frequent posts discussing the pros and cons of statins, and one in particular several weeks ago where a position paper was cited where the assumption was that statins are not only a viable option but should be the first line of defense against heart disease. As I have...

www.excelmale.com

The nurse told me that I had two risk factor, over 65 and male. Why would I take a Med for a condition I don’t have?

 

[MDavidW76]

It’s something like a 14 Billion dollar industry in the USA… they keep dropping the ranges to get more and more people on Statins.

The effect of statins on average survival in randomised trials, an analysis of end point postponement | BMJ Open

bmjopen.bmj.com

“The survival gains we found are surprisingly small. The highest value was 27 days, found in the 4S study, achieved by 5.8 years of simvastatin therapy in participants with a history of unstable angina or myocardial infarction. Experience from studies of preferences, when presented with similar scenarios, shows that as many as 70% of lay persons would not accept such a treatment.”

Do Statins Actually Extend Life, or Cut It Short? - Fast Rope

Out of 100 people treated with statins for five years, one person will have one less heart attack. Studies regularly exaggerate the benefits.

www.fastrope.com

There are also studies from Norway showing that Statins are junk, and that women with a total cholesterol level below 250 died before those with that level.

When my heart doctor wants to see a magic number I pretty much tank my cholesterol via food choices and combined meds and supps… he was so happy with my numbers… ok, whatever… I don’t eat high fat to begin with so it’s all horse crap…

 

[Hyrulewarrior1978]

Question everything and trust no one (especially your doctor).

 

[Deleted member 16042]

This is a menu for research articles and studies from Pub med, NIH etc. You can click through on each to find the actual abstracts and studies.

Statin Drugs

This topic contains 451 study abstracts on Statin Drugs indicating they may contribute to Statin-Induced Pathologies, Myopathies, and Chemically-Induced Liver Damage

greenmedinfo.com

 

[Mountain Man]

There are numerous studies on pub Med that indicate the effects of them on men in my situation are inconsequential and could be counter productive. They are now giving risk factors that cannot be controlled, age and gender. I am not as critical about medicine as most guys here, but I do think you have to be involved and do your own research.

I also contacted Men’s Health Boston, Abraham Morgentaler’s clinic, where I get TRT and they sent me this article which indicates that TRT is preventative for high cholesterol:

Long-term testosterone therapy in hypogonadal men ameliorates elements of the metabolic syndrome: an observational, long-term registry study - PMC

The goal of this study was to determine if long-term testosterone (T) therapy in men with hypogonadism, henceforth referred to as testosterone deficiency (TD), ameliorates or improves metabolic syndrome (MetS) components. We performed a cumulative ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Vince]

Most preventative doctors won't prescribe a statin unless you have coronary plaque. That's why you should get a heart scan if your arteries are clean. No reason for a statin. A statin will help stabilize your plaque, that's basically the only reason to use one.

 

[Mountain Man]

Most preventative doctors won't prescribe a statin unless you have coronary plaque. That's why you should get a heart scan if your arteries are clean. No reason for a statin. A statin will help stabilize your plaque, that's basically the only reason to use one.

With the numbers I have I would think that an insurance company would need to see more than that to pay for a heart scan.

 

[tareload]

Good luck.

 

[Deleted member 16042]

With the numbers I have I would think that an insurance company would need to see more than that to pay for a heart scan.

Around here they run $150-200 our of pocket.

 

[Vince]

With the numbers I have I would think that an insurance company would need to see more than that to pay for a heart scan.

Insurance doesn't pay for heart scans. They're very inexpensive and most hospitals do them. I'm surprised your doctor didn't recommend you having one. Especially since he recommended you taking a statin.

 

[Vince]

Should I start a low dose statin

So my most recent lab results aren't great and my doctor would like me to start 10mg of lipitor to lower my LDL. I posted my last three labs. My LDL did drop slightly when I was using red yeast rice supplements for about three months. My doc believes its hereditary due to my triglycerides being...

www.excelmale.com

 

[Mountain Man]

Insurance doesn't pay for heart scans. They're very inexpensive and most hospitals do them. I'm surprised your doctor didn't recommend you having one. Especially since he recommended you taking a statin.

They told me why they recommended it for me. Because I am a male and 68 years old. No reason for a heart scan. It is “recommended” by the American Cardiology Association as a preventative. Some PCPs don’t mention it if you have no risks from blood tests. For others it has become a standard procedure to recommend it to all males over 65 regardless of other factors.

 

[Vince]

They told me why they recommended it for me. Because I am a male and 68 years old. No reason for a heart scan. It is “recommended” by the American Cardiology Association as a preventative. Some PCPs don’t mention it if you have no risks from blood tests. For others it has become a standard procedure to recommend it to all males over 65 regardless of other factors.

So what you say is you do not want to get a heart scan, right?

 

[t_spacemonkey]

my chol levels are 'through the roof' (which is good for longevity), i'm 44, eat mostly ONLY RED MEAT, i had a Calcium score heart scan, and there is absolutely nothing. 0

 

[Mountain Man]

So what you say is you do not want to get a heart scan, right?

If I develop risk factors I certainly would, but a need a little more than being 68 and male. If insurance would cover it I would do it now. Funny how they want me on meds permanently but won’t pay for a one time heart scan.

 

[Vince]

If I develop risk factors I certainly would, but a need a little more than being 68 and male. If insurance would cover it I would do it now. Funny how they want me on meds permanently but won’t pay for a one time heart scan.

The number one risk factor is parents. If your parents never have any heart problems, your risk should be low. No matter what your labs tells you.

But I do know one person who parents were in their 90s. He believed he would never have any heart disease. When he was sitting at home watching TV at age 62, he had a massive heart attack. So I guess you never really know.

Or maybe you just shouldn't watch TV lol.