Should You Be Taking a Statin Medication for High Cholesterol?
It’s the burning question of the age! Should you take statins or not? Statins are drugs that are proven to reduce the level of cholesterol in your blood.
This is good for you because cholesterol is an unhealthy fat compound found in abundance in too much the food we consume. Cholesterol in moderation is vital for our health yet too much of the nasty kind, called low-density lipoprotein, leads to all kinds of unhealthy conditions and complications. Too much of it can increase the risk of heart problems such as heart attack, stroke and worsening cardiovascular disease.
Millions of people already take statins daily. Doctors prescribe them for patients who are at higher risk of heart disease. It is a preventive measure for folks who have already had a stroke, for instance. So why wouldn’t everyone take them, for the same prevention benefits? There are various varieties of statin, but the effects are common to each of them. Of course, they are expensive but in the long-term, they are cost-effective in health terms.
Even if your risk rating for heart problems is relatively low, around 1 in 5 in the next decade, it is still recommended that you take statins. People with a higher risk than this should definitely consider the preventive treatment while those with a lower risk should can also benefit according to a new piece of deep research out of the University of Oxford.
The Oxford experts are saying that treating everyone with statins will save lives and improve life quality for all. However, not all medical talking heads agree. A different study last year, by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found no evidence to prove that low risk category people benefited from taking stains. Other studies have emphasized the side effects of statins on a small number of takers.
Statins are a must for people who have already had a heart attack. The demand for statins would go through the roof if people with just a 10% risk factor were to take them. The Oxford view is that this would save many lives and save you money in the long run.
However, on the other hand, statins are chemical compounds with possible adverse side effects. They have been linked with muscular conditions as well as liver and kidney dysfunction; it must be stressed, in a very small number of cases. So how do you feel about the statin debate? Is it right for patients and society as a whole for healthy people to be taking medicines, just in case?
The alternative to pharmaceutical prevention is for government and the medical establishment to encourage all round healthier lifestyles. A healthy diet, a good energetic daily lifestyle are surely the non-consumerist, a more human way to go? A balanced diet with real food (5 or fewer ingredients on the packet) and mostly plants will prevent you gaining weight and cut the risk of diabetes visiting you in later life. It isn’t what Big Pharma would like, and in that battle of vested interests, there will probably only be one winner.
Julia19
June 17, 2012 at 5:38 am
They have been linked with muscular conditions as well as liver and kidney dysfunction; it must be stressed, in a very small number of cases.