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More people on statins? Oh, joy.
Posted by Tracie B
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1:05 PM
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change,
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education,
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medications,
medicine,
nutrition,
prescriptions,
root cause,
weight loss
Let me preface this by saying that I do believe that, in certain cases, medication is absolutely necessary and that I know that statins are helpful, to some people, but a majority of the people who are taking them, don't need to be.
So when I heard about this, this morning, it made me raise an eyebrow.
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"New guidelines may put 13 million more on statins 1"
"Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could be prescribed to an estimated 33 million Americans without cardiovascular disease who have a 7.5 percent or higher risk for a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years. That’s according to a new cholesterol guideline from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.
This is a dramatic change from the 2002 federal cholesterol guideline, which recommended that people should only take a statin if their 10-year risk level exceeded 20 percent. The old guideline only considered a person’s risk for heart disease, leaving out the risk for stroke."
The guideline recommends statin therapy for the following groups:
As it is, doctors are too quick to diagnose and prescribe medication, based solely on symptoms, without really addressing the root cause of problem. Now, with these new guidelines, it seems that instead of lowering cholesterol the natural way - by first advising patients to go on a low cholesterol diet - they're going to be prescribing statins much quicker. I'd also like to know how they're calculating the "7.5% or higher risk factors" since technically, everyone has a chance of getting heart attack or a stroke - no one is immune.
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"Obesity should be treated like a disease and cholesterol-lowering drugs could prevent cardiovascular disease in more Americans than previously thought, according to new cardiovascular prevention guidelines released Tuesday by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology." 3
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Throwing drugs at someone who is overweight isn't going to help them. If they want to treat obesity like a disease, then they need to get to the root and ask their patients two simple questions: When did you start gaining weight (and) Was there anything, around that time, that may have triggered it? Weight loss is crucial and the only way that doctors are going to help people is by going back to school and getting a better education in the fields of nutrition and psychology. People need to better understand how (and what) to eat by learning about proper portion size, how to read labels, what goes into our food and why they started to eat more in the first place.
And then there are the statins potential side effects 4: cognitive impairment, increased risk of raised blood sugar (which could lead to Type 2 diabetes - which, ironically, the statin is also suggested to help treat) and if paired with certain other types of medication, it can increase the risk of muscle damage.
For an otherwise healthy person who should be able to control their blood pressure, through proper education, diet and exercise, is the risk of these side effects really worth it? Apparently, I'm not the only one who thought this way...
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"For healthy individuals who may have some risk factors for future heart trouble, doctors have always been reluctant to prescribe medications when so much of heart disease is preventable, with proper diet and exercise. “For people with no history of heart disease, but who are trying to prevent heart disease, there is already a tremendous amount of overuse of statins in my view in this country,” says Eric Topol. “So my concern is that the new guidelines will lead to potentially even more promiscuous use of these statins than already exists.” 5
( Dr. Eric Topol is a cardiologist and chief academic officer of Scripps Health)
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The best thing we can do is to become our own health advocate. I know that Doctors hate when patients self-diagnose, and come in with a list of things that they could possibly have, but keep doing it! It's your life and your health and you have the right to feel as if you're getting the best care possible. And if you don't feel as if you are, get a second opinion. You know your body, better than anyone else, and if something feels off you're probably right. Do your own research. Dig for the root cause of the symptoms and figure out what can be done to nip the issue in the bud instead of wasting precious time and money on just treating the symptoms.
The face of medicine has to change and it needs to start with us.
So when I heard about this, this morning, it made me raise an eyebrow.
----------
"New guidelines may put 13 million more on statins 1"
"Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could be prescribed to an estimated 33 million Americans without cardiovascular disease who have a 7.5 percent or higher risk for a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years. That’s according to a new cholesterol guideline from the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.This is a dramatic change from the 2002 federal cholesterol guideline, which recommended that people should only take a statin if their 10-year risk level exceeded 20 percent. The old guideline only considered a person’s risk for heart disease, leaving out the risk for stroke."
The guideline recommends statin therapy for the following groups:
- People without cardiovascular disease who are 40 to 75 years old and have a 7.5 percent or higher risk for heart attack or stroke within 10 years.
- People with a history of heart attack, stroke, stable or unstable angina, peripheral artery disease, transient ischemic attack, or coronary or other arterial revascularization.
- People 21 and older who have a very high level of bad cholesterol (190 mg/dL or higher).
- People with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who are 40 to 75 years old.
As it is, doctors are too quick to diagnose and prescribe medication, based solely on symptoms, without really addressing the root cause of problem. Now, with these new guidelines, it seems that instead of lowering cholesterol the natural way - by first advising patients to go on a low cholesterol diet - they're going to be prescribing statins much quicker. I'd also like to know how they're calculating the "7.5% or higher risk factors" since technically, everyone has a chance of getting heart attack or a stroke - no one is immune.
----------
"Obesity should be treated like a disease and cholesterol-lowering drugs could prevent cardiovascular disease in more Americans than previously thought, according to new cardiovascular prevention guidelines released Tuesday by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology." 3
----------
Throwing drugs at someone who is overweight isn't going to help them. If they want to treat obesity like a disease, then they need to get to the root and ask their patients two simple questions: When did you start gaining weight (and) Was there anything, around that time, that may have triggered it? Weight loss is crucial and the only way that doctors are going to help people is by going back to school and getting a better education in the fields of nutrition and psychology. People need to better understand how (and what) to eat by learning about proper portion size, how to read labels, what goes into our food and why they started to eat more in the first place.
And then there are the statins potential side effects 4: cognitive impairment, increased risk of raised blood sugar (which could lead to Type 2 diabetes - which, ironically, the statin is also suggested to help treat) and if paired with certain other types of medication, it can increase the risk of muscle damage.
For an otherwise healthy person who should be able to control their blood pressure, through proper education, diet and exercise, is the risk of these side effects really worth it? Apparently, I'm not the only one who thought this way...
---------------
"For healthy individuals who may have some risk factors for future heart trouble, doctors have always been reluctant to prescribe medications when so much of heart disease is preventable, with proper diet and exercise. “For people with no history of heart disease, but who are trying to prevent heart disease, there is already a tremendous amount of overuse of statins in my view in this country,” says Eric Topol. “So my concern is that the new guidelines will lead to potentially even more promiscuous use of these statins than already exists.” 5
( Dr. Eric Topol is a cardiologist and chief academic officer of Scripps Health)
------------------------
The best thing we can do is to become our own health advocate. I know that Doctors hate when patients self-diagnose, and come in with a list of things that they could possibly have, but keep doing it! It's your life and your health and you have the right to feel as if you're getting the best care possible. And if you don't feel as if you are, get a second opinion. You know your body, better than anyone else, and if something feels off you're probably right. Do your own research. Dig for the root cause of the symptoms and figure out what can be done to nip the issue in the bud instead of wasting precious time and money on just treating the symptoms.
The face of medicine has to change and it needs to start with us.
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