Cure Heart Disease

Archive for the ‘Heart Disease’ Category

Research done at the University of Nottingham in the UK appears to show that there can be serious side effects for long term users of a class of cholesterol reducing drugs.

Medications designed to reduce cholesterol levels in your body are known as statins. Doctors prescribe them for individuals with hypercholesterolemia, or levels of cholesterol that are above normal. While the body produces cholesterol naturally, unhealthy levels are usually due to lack of exercise and a diet full of high cholesterol foods.

There are a number of different kinds of cholesterol. One type, known as LDL or low density lipoproteins, tends to attach itself to artery walls. This can result in a disorder known as artherosclerosis, or narrowing of the arteries. Atherosclerosis is one of the primary causes of heart trouble.

High cholesterol also contributes to hypertension (high blood pressure) because your heart has to work harder to pump blood through blocked blood vessels.

Statins inhibit an enzyme in the liver that creates cholesterol. But there’s a downside, according to the Nottingham study. Using cholesterol-lowering medications for a long period of time may eventually have a negative effect, and even, in some cases, result in liver failure.

The Nottingham research also concluded that statins may contribute to a disorder called myositis, or muscle inflammation. In addition to causing muscular pain, myositis also makes muscles weaker. As myositis progresses, it can eventually lead to a more serious condition known as rhabdomyolysis. When you have rhabdomyolysis, your muscle begins to degrade, which produces a byproduct known as myoglobin. Myoglobin passes through the kidneys and can trigger serious kidney problems.

The research team in Nottingham concluded that long term statin use can also endanger eye health, causing cataracts to develop.

The study emphasized the importance of having regular liver function tests done if you’re taking statins to lower your LDL cholesterol. You should also be tested for the liklihood of future kidney failure.

But there’s also positive news from the Nottingham study too. While it was found that side effects can occur, it was also determined that the overall odds were slight. When the possible side effects of statins are balanced against the likelihood of cardiovascular disease from high cholesterol and high blood pressure, taking statins makes sense when they’re prescribed by your medical professional.

In recent years, doctors have been prescribing statins more and more often because the number of patients with obesity, which is a primary risk factor for high cholesterol and heart disease, has been going up at alarming rates.

There’s now software available to help doctors identify patients with the greatest probability of having side effects someday. At-risk patients  should be monitored closely if it’s apparent that they need cholesterol lowering medications, but are also more likely to be subject to side effects.