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getting help with prescription costs I think my statins are giving me nightmares. Can I take them in the morning instead? Statins have been prescribed to millions of people and are estimated to save 7,000 lives each year in England. The decision to take a statin is an important one, as it will probably be recommended that you take the medication for a long time.
a statin? - BHF - British Heart Foundation Should I take a statin? - BHF - British Heart Foundation
They're all fighting to help heart patients: finding new, better treatments for people with heart and circulatory disease, and developing new ways to better prevent or diagnose it. If you’re at high risk of heart and circulatory disease, you should have a chat with your GP before buying a statin. You may need to have a statin prescribed for you and the effects watched. How else can I lower my cholesterol? So what is the evidence for their benefits? Dr Aseem Malhotra, author of the bestselling The 21-Day Immunity Plan and co-author of the bestselling The Pioppi Diet, examines the claims for statins and their role in lowering cholesterol and preventing heart disease. He introduces us to his targeted heart-health plan, which, with a diet plan, recipes and advice on reducing stress and increasing movement, can help us to live statin-free and take control of our own health.It’s a useless biomarker in terms of predicting someone’s risk of heart disease and therefore we shouldn’t obsess about lowering it," he says. Instead, he believes the best predictor of the risk of heart disease is reached by measuring the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL, or 'good' cholesterol. Firstly, consider the benefits for you. For people diagnosed with coronary heart disease or stroke there is proven benefit, so your GP or cardiologist will recommend you take a statin. An exceptionally rare, but serious, side effect is severe muscle damage, producing pain and weakness in the muscles. It can be reversed if treatment is stopped and most people who develop it make a rapid recovery.
Statins - BHF - British Heart Foundation Statins - BHF - British Heart Foundation
Ultimately, whether you choose to take statins or not, Dr Malhotra says, "Please, please, please do not neglect the lifestyle aspect, because eighty percent of heart disease is environmental and lifestyle related." He hopes people will read his book, consult their open-minded medical experts, and make informed decisions. These are very powerful drugs and in the early days of statins, understandably, some people were concerned about potential undiscovered risks associated with them. They’re now one of the most investigated drugs, and we have lots of reliable data – some of which originated from work that’s been funded by the BHF – that show they are very safe and effective to take. How will taking a statin help me? There are other ways to reduce cholesterol, including: losing weight; being physically active; and following a healthy diet, inspired by the traditional Mediterranean diet. Weigh up the pros and cons of taking a statin and remember, a healthy diet, physical activity and not smoking are also important for your heart health. Sometimes, if you think a tablet might cause a nightmare, it can increase the risk of having one. For some types of statin, it’s better to take them at night, because that’s when they have a bigger effect on reducing cholesterol. However, the most important thing is that you take them regularly, rather than not at all. Are there any food or drinks I should avoid?It feels like a war, with bitter accusations of misinformation and ‘fake news’ flying on both sides. The foods we should eat? "A combination of oily fish, nuts, whole fruit and vegetables, extra virgin olive oil - and whatever else as long as you’re minimising the sugar and low quality carbohydrate, the breads and the pastas." It’s important to take your medication as prescribed. Your doctor may recommend you take your statin at a certain same time every day as this keeps your blood levels even. We've followed an eight-step process to make sure this content is reliable, accurate and trustworthy. Learn how we make our health information reliable and easy to understand.
A Statin-Free Life by Dr. Aseem Malhotra | Goodreads
Medical prescriptions are free in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are also free for people in England who meet certain criteria, including people who are:
I think my statins are giving me nightmares. Can I take them in the morning instead?
June Davison puts some of your questions to Professor Richard Hobbs, head of Primary Care (Health Sciences) at the University of Oxford and a part-time GP. A patient may still decide to take a statin, based on their individual risk factors, perhaps "a family history of heart disease" – but his mission is "informed consent for patients." Too often, he says, there’s little discussion. If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy, you shouldn't take statins. If you’re already taking statins and recently found out you’re pregnant or would like to become pregnant, speak to your GP. What are the side effects of statins? Lots of people don’t need a strong statin to reduce their cholesterol level. Your GP or cardiologist will find the right statin for you, depending on your medical history and the cholesterol level they want you to aim for. Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. Yet many report unacceptable side effects and a US survey revealed that 75 per cent of respondents stopped taking them within a year.
A Statin-Free Life by Matt Addis | Hachette UK A Statin-Free Life by Matt Addis | Hachette UK
He is a frequent expert commentator in print and broadcast media in the UK and internationally, having written for a wide range of publications such as the BMJ, British Journal of Sports Medicine, and European Scientist, and has had feature articles written about him in papers such as The New York Times, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph. About one in 250 people in the UK have familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), an inherited condition that causes high levels of cholesterol and which can also be treated with statins. Heart disease is the primary cause of death – and the most common cause of premature death – in the western world. To reduce their risk, over six million people in the UK take statins, which lower ‘bad cholesterol’ (LDL-C). This is the accepted science. The main differences are in how much they lower cholesterol. They can be split into two groups – low-intensity statins (for example, pravastatin and simvastatin) and high-intensity statins (such as atorvastatin and rosuvastatin). For most people, a lower-intensity statin will be enough to reduce their cholesterol sufficiently, but if it’s not, your doctor may want to increase the dose or switch to a higher-intensity one. What side effects are there?
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If you do experience side effects, or if your side effects change or become worse, tell your GP. Can I buy statins over the counter? Heart disease is still the number one killer in the world, yet most people don’t actually understand what markers put them most at risk. It’s so much more than just LDL cholesterol. Statins have become the panacea for anyone with LDL that’s just a little off, yet most people (and even many doctors) aren’t fully informed of the risks versus the benefits of this drug, let alone aware of other treatment options for heart disease. Today, I talk to Dr. Aseem Malhotra about the real data on statins, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, and so much more.
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