- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
- Messages
- 26,290
- Reaction score
- 16,771
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Progressive
For Older People, Reassuring News in the Statin Debate (Published 2020)
There is accumulating evidence that the benefits of statins far outweigh possible risks, and nearly all statins on the market are now available as inexpensive generics.
www.nytimes.com
There is accumulating evidence that the benefits of statins far outweigh possible risks, and nearly all statins on the market are now available as inexpensive generics.
Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, already one of the most popular medications worldwide, may become even more widely used as evidence grows of their safety and value to the elderly and their potential benefits beyond the heart and blood vessels.
Among the latest are reports of the ability of several leading statins to reduce deaths from common cancers and blunt the decline of memory with age. Perhaps such reports will persuade a reluctant 65-year-old friend who has diabetes, and others like him, that taking the statin his doctor strongly advised is a smart choice.
In addition to accumulating evidence that the benefits of statins far outweigh possible risks for the vast majority of people for whom they are now recommended, nearly all statins on the market are now available as inexpensive generics.
Full disclosure: I have a strong family history of heart disease and have been taking a statin — atorvastatin, originally marketed as Lipitor — for many years after dietary changes failed to control a steadily rising blood level of artery-damaging LDL-cholesterol. My prescription is now fully covered by my Medicare Part D insurance with no co-pay.
===============================================================================
Statins like atorvastatin work by inhibiting the biosynthesis of endogenous cholesterol in the liver.
I've taken atorvastatin for years.
My cardiologist suggested I add a 10 mg Zetia (ezetimbe) in order to further lower my cholesterol level. Zetia acts by inhibiting a protein in the small intestine that transports cholesterol from food, called exogenous cholesterol.
The 2 drugs together succeeded in lowering both my total cholesterol & my LDL (bad cholesterol) to acceptable levels.