At that point, our doctor added 10 mg Zetia to his regimen because of elevated LDL particles. Also, my husband stopped all alcohol (he was a social drinker, around 2-3 glasses of wine per week) and NSAID's. A month later most of his LFT's were elevated, ALT 79, GGTP 178, ALP 113 & AST on upper end of normal at 40. The doctor said to stop the Lipitor...but stay on the Zetia...... and retest in 1-1/2 weeks which he did this past Sept. 30th.
I am now 67 and have tried two different popular statins( lipitor and crestor which did lower LDL about 50 pts but also lowered HDL). I could not tolerate either statin because of personality changes ie: anger and irritability all the time and severe cognitive issues with memory, reasoning and being able to focus. After stopping each statin, it has taken me longer to get back to normal mentally. It is amazing how much better I feel now that I have been off of them for 4 mos.
There really isn't enough data yet to establish true long term effects of statins. It is only relatively recently that they have been dished out to the public like the miracle candy.
If you start statins, you will notice quickly if something isn't right. You simply stop taking them and report back to your GP. Statins will not kill you over night.
t find the right medicine...Lipitor caused severe muscle weakness, Zetia caused all kind of digestive problems and Pravachol zapped my energy...my count actually went up 30 points while taking WelChol! My doctor is telling me that I have no other choices of medicine to lower my count (total 285, HDL 106 VLDL 21, LDL 188, Triglycerids 106.) My sister is having the same problem so I guess this problem is a family thing. I am really troubled by my doctor's lack of concern.
I am an overweight 42 year old with LDL under 100, tri under 130 and HDL at 40. I have lost 35 pounds excercising with about 60 more to go. I started running about a month ago and currently going to gym 5-6 days a week with 6 days cardion and three days weight training.On the treadmill I normally do 10 min warmup and then 30 sec running and 30 sec walking for 20 minutes then a 5 minute cool down.
Much of the advertising with statins describe a 36% risk reduction in heart attacks. This is a relative risk reduction. The absolute risk reduction is a decrease from a 3% risk to a 2% risk. In practical terms, this means that in men under the age of 65 with pre-existing heart disease, 100 (the NNT- Number Needed to Treat) have to take a statin for 3 years to prevent 1 heart attack. The other 99 men receive no benefit.
That said, a weight reduction of 10% coupled with daily exercise will probably show a reduction in ldl, and your hdl is excellent, but statins are very safe. I'd lose the weight, take the statins, your heart will love you back. If you smoke, by all means, quit. In my case with Congestive Heart Failure, ldl above 75 means a very long lecture by my cardiologist.
i am 53 yo and is on glucose reduction, cholesterol reduction and blood tension reduction agents. is any of tese agents a direct cause? I was on an antibiotic cure after a tooth implant. could this have been the cause? yet 3 weeks elapsed between the date of cure end and blood test. What need i do? Thank you.
How do you view a reduction in both LDL and HDL? I have heard that the risk of CAD goes down proportionately with the decrease in LDL. That is, for ever 1% decrease in LDL, the risk of CAD goes down by 1%. I have also heard that for each 1mg (mg rather than %) increase in HDL, the risk of CAD goes down by 2%. Is this correct? Does this formular hold true when the patients LDL and HDL are low to begin with. My LDL went from 80 to 39 and HDL from 50 to 34.
However I have had a hard time controlling my LDL level. I reacted to Lipitor and have had some luck with zetia but now I am using red yeast rice which had kept my levels around 100 when I was clean in my diet, which is hard to do in Mx. I am 56 and in very good shape with a body fat of about 17%. I just had a lipid panel done and here are my numbers: HDL 113, LDL 131, Trg 36. My HDLs have always been very high, but never this high. I don't smoke, my BP runs 115/70 on average.
Coreg can make a person feel extremely tired and loss of energy. Coreg is the best beta blocker as it blocks more receptors than Tropol XL. There is a medication that is being used in Europe that hopefully will be here in the US soon. It is a combination of Coreg and Tropol XL, I believe. This gives all the benefits of Coreg and reduces the tiredness that people complain about. Our relatives in Europe use the medication and have energy to travel to US and all around the states.
I am presently taking Zetia every other day. I also take Omega 3/6, vitamin A,E. With Zetia interfere with the absorption of the benefits of these supplements and if so what can I do to get the full benefit of Zetia and the supplements, if anything.
Ar there any other supplements that should be avoided while taking Zetia?
Many thanks.
1However, despite a reduction in LDL cholesterol with high-dose statins to 1•6 mmol/L in patients with stable coronary heart disease, and to 2•0 mmol/L in those with acute coronary syndrome, the risk of cardiovascular disease remains substantial at 8•7% after 4•9 years of follow-up,2 and 22•4% after 24 months' follow-up,3 respectively".
How high is your LDL? Up to 130 WITHOUT heart disease is normal. If your LDL is very high natural stuff might wont help you, it didn't help me. My LDL was 231 and I wasted a whole year and money on different "natural" products only to see a drop of 20 points. For the last 4 1/2 yrs I take 20mg of Zocor, no side effects whatsoever, and my cholesterol is now perfect.
Do we have any available solid data on the effects of the various individual statins other than LDL reduction? For example, do we know which ones raise HDL the most? What about effects on particle size or Lp(a), etc. I guess really the most important question would be – is any one of these statins more proven than the rest in regards to reducing cardiovascular events?
So I got something in the mail from The Mayo Clinic today. Its a 'Personalized Health Risk Profile' from the women's heart clinic there. Everything looks good except my cholesterol - holy MOLY - my LDL (bad) cholesterol is 144. Says it's supposed to be under 70! My total cholesterol is 225! Says it should be less than 180! AGH! The triglycerides and HDL (good cholesterol) are good.
Umm, could this be causing my palpitations? Or what?
Unfortunately, in cases where gentics play a role, statins are the first line of therapy. You can ask your doctor about a Fenofibrate, they work well on TGL's and lower one's overall total cholesterol, but are not as effective on LDL. You are on one of the more powerful statins so you can ask your doctor about Vytorin which is simple Simvastatin and Zetia which works both in the liver and in the digestive tract. Simvastatin is usually better tolerated than Lipitor.
They found lipoprotein a levels of 270mg/dl, HDL 72, LDLpart 1256, small LDL-Pnmol/L 560, Triglycerides 96, Total cholesterol 221. I have no family members with any obvious heart disease. I had a CIMT Carotid Artery Ultrasound test and found R) Artery normal for my age and the L) Artery at norms for 65 year old.
I am currently taking 750mg of Niaspan er, Omega 3 fish oil and Vitamin D3 2000mg daily (it was at 29).
What are my risks for atherosclerosis causing MI, stroke etc.
only 12% were on oral prednisone with a maximum daily dose of 5 mg. After ezetimibe was started, an 18% reduction in LDL values was observed [at baseline, 147 +/- 35 mg/dL (3.8 +/- 0.9 mmol/L), and at 6 months, 120 +/- 31 mg/dL (3.1 +/- 0.8 mmol/L); P = 0.010]. After 6 months, an additional 32% achieved the target LDL level of <100 mg/dL. None of the remaining variables, including immunosuppression drug levels, varied significantly during ezetimibe therapy.
4%) over 18 months. Thus, atorvastatin 80 mg/day causes a greater reduction in LDL-cholesterol than pravastatin 40 mg/day, and this is associated with a reduced progression of atheroma and reduced clinical events. As a consequence of these findings, the National Cholesterol Education Programme and European guidelines for LDL-cholesterol levels should be lowered.
I understand your concern, but after much research concerning the side effects of statins meds, PVC's are not a listed side effect. In fact, statin use has been studied in exercise induced PVC trials and have been shown to reduce the incidence of PVCs due to exercise so it would stand to reason that they also do not affect normal heart rhythm.
Having said that, your PVCs may be anxiety related to statin use.
Bypass fixes the problem unlike stents which are more like band-aids and further down the road problems develop again. Get your LDL down. Watch your diet. Be strict. Red meat reduction or elimination will decrease your LDL level. I have tried eliminating certain foods for a year and then having blood work done to see what foods reduce LDL levels. Red meat definitely reduces the LDL level. Make sure you take your cholesterol medication.
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