A study of more than 135,000 people at risk for a heart attack or stroke found that those who took statins had a 25% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who did not take statins. Statins are among the safest and most studied medications.
“Statins have been shown to help prevent ischaemic strokes in people who've never had a stroke. However, some previous studies have suggested statins may cause a small increase in risk of hemorrhagic stroke, whilst other studies have been inconclusive,” Dr.
Thus, statins may reduce thromboembolism to the brain by preventing early recurrent MI, but that is not the only mechanism. It has been suggested that statins may reduce stroke simply by reducing blood pressure.
Discontinuation of statin therapy between 3 and 6 months after an index ischemic stroke is associated with a higher risk of recurrent stroke within 1 year after statin discontinuation.
Statins can stabilize cholesterol plaque already attached to artery walls, making it less likely to get worse or rupture, causing a heart attack or stroke. "Statins also help remove cholesterol from you blood by causing the liver to express more LDL cholesterol receptors that take cholesterol out of your blood," Dr.
While statins are highly effective and safe for most people, they have been linked to muscle pain, digestive problems and mental fuzziness in some people. Rarely, they may cause liver damage.
It's important to know that stopping statins cold turkey, or even gradually, can cause serious health problems and you should talk to your doctor before doing so.
Statins can help prevent coronary artery disease and lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. The benefit is greatest for people at high risk of heart attack and stroke. If you have a low risk of heart attack and stroke, you will get less benefit from taking a statin, so the decision may not be as clear.
Atorvastatin. In the trial of ASCOTLLA, atorvastatin (10 mg/day) was associated with a 27% reduction in fatal or nonfatal stroke (P = 0.02) [69]. In the GREACE study, atorvastatin (10 to 80mg/day) was proved to reduce stroke incidence by 47% (P = 0.03) [70].
In the Heart Protection Study, simvastatin 40 mg daily, which has equivalent efficacy for reducing low-density lipoprotein to 5 mg atorvastatin, reduced ischaemic stroke by about one-quarter, in patients with coronary disease. A higher statin dose does not appear to reduce stroke further.
Q: Can statins actually reverse plaque buildup? A: Yes.
Statin therapy has been proven effective in preventing cardiovascular disease recurrence after a stroke in patients below the age of 80 years. However, clinical practice clearly lacks evidence on the benefits of statin therapy after the age of 80 years.
As per the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association guidelines, aspirin as well as statins are commonly recommended in patients with ischemic stroke (Kernan et al., 2014).
Although there are some potential side effects long-term for statins, in most cases, if your doctor has identified you as having high cholesterol and needing a statin, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. Muscle aches are among the most common complaints.
Statins and DVT
All 7 studies, including the JUPITER trial, concluded that statin use was associated with a decreased rate of DVT, PE, or overall VTE (Table 2, Section 3). The JUPITER trial was a prospective clinical RCT involving 17,802 patients, in 26 countries, and included a 5-year follow up [9].
High cholesterol may increase the risk of stroke by boosting the risk of vascular disease, which is a risk factor for stroke. When there is a plaque or fatty deposit build-up in the arteries due to high cholesterol, the blood flow to the brain can be blocked, reducing the amount of oxygen reaching the brain cells.
There isn't one best statin to take. No individual statin has been proven to be best at preventing heart attacks and strokes. But there is evidence that rosuvastatin and atorvastatin decrease harmful cholesterol more than other statins. Some people will clearly benefit from taking a statin.
Serious atorvastatin side effects are rare but possible. They include liver, kidney, and severe muscle damage. Atorvastatin can also cause blood glucose (sugar) levels to rise, increasing the risk of diabetes in certain people.
Taking statins can enable you to live years longer. That's because for every millimole per liter you drop your bad LDL cholesterol, you may live three years longer––maybe even six years longer, depending on which study you're reading.
Statin use has been linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes because the medication can fuel mild glucose elevations in predisposed individuals — an effect that can often be countervailed by exercise and losing as little as a few pounds.
In the statin-only group, 3.8 percent had a heart attack, stroke or heart-related death compared with 3.6 percent who took a statin plus blood pressure-lowering medicine. The rate of those same outcomes was 4.6 percent in participants taking only blood pressure drugs and 5 percent among those taking placebos.
If you simply forget to take a dose of your statin medication, you're not likely to have any serious effects. It could take some time for your cholesterol to build up to pre-statin levels — likely longer than a few days.
If you quit cold turkey, your body can go into shock. It is not recommended that you stop statins suddenly if you have a history of heart attack or stroke, as it can put you at a higher risk of recurrent heart attack. You should speak with your doctor before stopping the medicine under any circumstance.
According to Dr Chandra, if a person stops taking statins, their cholesterol could most likely go up again, putting them at risk of developing atherosclerotic heart disease, which is why, he believes, one should never stop statins on their own, rather must consult their doctor before stopping statins.