I believe that one of the drawbacks to the information age lies in the amount of information that streams by us on the fringes of our attention. To be able to pick out the specifics from the huge amount of background noise is no small task.
So it is with statins. To me, this is one of those subjects that I hear a lot about in other contexts and so I think I know something about it. But, in truth, I really don't. So, if you are as unsure as I as to what statins are and why we should even care, please read on.
At the most basic, statins are a family of chemical substances that blocks an enzyme that the body needs to produce cholesterol. When statins are present in the system, the amount of LDL ("bad") is reduced.
Because of this property, statins and statin combination drugs are often prescribed by doctors for patients who have high amounts of cholesterol in their bloodstreams. Statins are available under many different brand names. Some of the more popular are Lipitor, Crestor, and Zocor.
In many medical studies, statin drugs have been shown to lower the overall risk of heart attacks and strokes for people who take them on a regular, prescribed basis to deal with high cholesterol levels.
Compared with other treatments, statin cholesterol lowering therapies decrease the advance of coronary artery disease much more effectively. In one study, for example, participants who had recently experienced heart attacks were given cholesterol lowering drugs in much higher doses than is usual and subsequently had many fewer strokes and heart attacks. Studies like this one suggest that concentrated statin therapy does save lives. As a result, the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Panel revised their guidelines to include statin treatments that were more intense as an option for patients considered to have a moderate to high risk of heart attacks.
There are now newer statin drugs available that can do even more to reduce the risks. These include atorvastatin (marketed as Caduet and Lipitor) and simvastatin (marketed as Zocor). These newer drugs can lower LDL cholesterol by as much as 55%, increase HDL cholesterol up to 15% and reduce triglycerides by up to 30%.
Statin drugs are not known to cause side effects for most people who take them. However, possible side effects are:
Fatigue
Upset Stomach
Gas and/or constipation
Cramps or stomach pain
Minor muscle ache
These side effects become more likely when higher doses are prescribed but are rarely, if ever, debilitating.
As is the case with any drug, statins may interact with other medications you are taking so be sure to keep your doctor up to date on all medications.
So that is a quick overview of statins and why we should care about them. As a class of drug, statins are extremely valuable in controlling cholesterol levels and prolonging life.
You can learn more about heart health and eating right at Chia Benefits.net.
