While statins can raise liver enzymes and cause myopathy, a muscle disease resulting in muscular weakness, and cause other side effects, magnesium can protect against myopathy and only has mild gastrointestinal side effects for some.
Mg has effects that are similar to statin effects, such as improving endothelial function, inhibiting vascular smooth muscle cell and macrophage proliferation and migration, promoting plaque stabilization and regression, and lowering inflammation.
Elevated serum cholesterol is a risk factor in the development of coronary artery disease. Magnesium has been reported to decrease total serum cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and very low density lipoprotein, and increase high density lipoprotein.
Some people do not tolerate statins or may want to try natural remedies to treat their high cholesterol. Statin alternatives include some prescription medications like ezetimibe and fibric acids. Natural remedies that some people use to help treat high cholesterol include omega-3 fatty acids and red yeast rice extract.
If you need to lower your cholesterol but cannot take a statin because of muscle aches or other side effects, you may want to try an alternative. New research shows that bempedoic acid can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke without causing muscle pain.
There are many non-statin medications your doctor might prescribe: Bile acid-binding resins, like cholestyramine (Locholest, Prevalite, Questran), colesevelam (WelChol), and colestipol (Colestid) stick to cholesterol-rich bile acids in your intestines and lower your LDL levels.
The most important thing your doctor will keep in mind when thinking about statin treatment is your long-term risk of a heart attack or stroke. If your risk is very low, you probably won't need a statin, unless your LDL is above 190 mg/dL (4.92 mmol/L).
Magnesium prevents calcium buildup in cholesterol plaque in arteries, which leads to clogged arteries. Magnesium levels are inversely associated with cardiovascular disease risk.
As a practical solution, supplementation at a level of 2.3 milligrams of magnesium per pound of body weight per day (this comes to about 345 milligrams per day for a 150 lb individual) can really help.
In this randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving people with prediabetes, we found that magnesium supplementation 250 mg daily for 12 weeks increased HDL-cholesterol, but no effects on total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.
This is a general list of medications that you should be aware of: Antacids containing magnesium or aluminum hydroxide may decrease the concentration of some statins in the body. This may be prevented by taking your statin dose and antacid dose at least two hours apart.
Try coenzyme Q10 supplements.
Coenzyme Q10 supplements may help prevent statin side effects in some people, though more studies are needed to determine any benefits of taking it. Talk to your health care professional first to make sure the supplement won't interact with any of your other medicines.
Magnesium supplements should be taken with meals. Taking magnesium supplements on an empty stomach may cause diarrhea.
If you've made lifestyle changes through diet and exercise that have lowered your cholesterol levels, you may not need to continue taking a statin. These changes can help reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, or blocked arteries while allowing you to take one less medication.
If you're taking a statin medication to lower your cholesterol, you will need to keep taking your prescription, or your cholesterol will likely go back up. Stopping your statin can put you at risk of having heart disease and other preventable health problems like stroke and heart attack from high cholesterol.
Fear of side effects and perceived side effects are the most common reasons for declining or discontinuing statin therapy. Willingness to take a statin is high, among both patients who have declined statin therapy and those who have never been offered one.
A low-dose statin like atorvastatin (Lipitor®) is safe for most patients, including those with mild liver enzyme abnormalities. Many people have fatty liver disease due to obesity.
Joseph A. Hill, M.D., Ph. D. The controversy in the United Kingdom started in 2013 when the British Medical Journal (BMJ) claimed statins were being overprescribed to people with low risk of heart disease, and that the drugs' side effects were worse than previously thought.
PCSK9 inhibitors have been approved in the USA and Europe for patients who are statin intolerant. Studies have shown LDL-C reductions > 50% for alirocumab and evolocumab, and cardiovascular benefit has been demonstrated for both agents.
Most people can lower high cholesterol with lifestyle changes, like prioritizing heart-healthy foods, quitting tobacco products, exercising regularly, and sleeping enough. Making changes to lower your cholesterol might mean you don't need to take cholesterol medication anymore (or deal with the side effects).