Statins are most beneficial for preventing cardiovascular events in patients who already have coronary heart disease. A meta-analysis of patients with existing disease (aged 65–82 years) found that all-cause mortality was significantly lower with statins than with placebo (15.6% vs 18.7%) over five years.
Do not start a statin in patients ages ≥ 75 years who do not have known vascular disease or type 2 diabetes; start or continue a statin in all patients ages 75 to 84 with type 2 diabetes to prevent cardiovascular events and mortality; and start or continue a statin in patients ages > 75 years who have known vascular ...
“There was a 25 percent lower risk of dying from any cause among those who were taking a statin, compared to those who never did — and a 20 percent lower risk of dying from a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, among those who started taking a statin after age 75,” says the study's lead author, ...
Statin therapy may be associated with a variety of musculoskeletal disorders, including myopathy, myalgias, muscle weakness, back conditions, injuries, and arthropathies. These disorders may be particularly problematic in older people and may contribute to physical deconditioning and frailty.
However, statins can cause side effects in older adults including gait disturbances, which can lead to falls; increased blood glucose levels and incidence of diabetes mellitus; development of cataracts; liver toxicity; and muscle complications such as rhabdomyolysis, which is a potentially life-threatening condition.
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.
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.
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.
After having their cholesterol tested, seniors should be given a number between 190 and 260. Healthy seniors should keep their total cholesterol below 200 and their LDL cholesterol around 100. If your elderly loved one's LDL cholesterol level is above 160, he or she must start making sweeping lifestyle changes.
Statin drugs have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young and middle-aged adults. With older adults (those 75 and over), the benefits are less clear. But a recent study published in the European Heart Journal suggests that there is in fact a benefit to statin use in this older population.
The Heart Protection Study included more than 20,000 people with cardiovascular disease or diabetes, who received simvastatin 40 mg daily versus placebo [6]. The risk of cardiovascular events was reduced by 18% in subjects aged 70 to 80 years treated with simvastatin and by 24% in those aged less than 65 years [6].
September 12, 2022, 1:25 p.m. News Staff — People ages 40 to 75 at high risk for cardiovascular disease should initiate statin use to prevent a heart attack or stroke, while those in the same age range at increased risk for CVD should consult a family physician or other primary care clinician to determine whether ...
No surprise there. But half of men, ages to 65 to 74, and 39% of women, ages 75 and older—that's pretty stunning. Combine the 45+ age groups and both genders, and it comes out that one in four Americans, ages 45 and older, are taking a statin. There are roughly 127 million Americans over age 45.
The use of statins among the oldest-old is very widespread; it ranges between 17% and 39% in nursing-home residents, 12% to 59% in community-dwelling patients, and 18% to 45% in combined populations.
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.
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.
High cholesterol levels are considered: too high: between 5 and 6.4mmol/l. very high: between 6.5 and 7.8mmol/l. extremely high: above 7.8mmol/l.
Rarely, statins may cause bad side effects, including confusion, memory loss, damage to your livers or high blood sugar. The new bempedoic acid drug – currently called Nexletol – is being developed by US-based Esperion Therapeutics and will go to the Therapeutics Goods Administration for approval for use in Australia.
A daily pill, bempodoic acid, has the potential to lower risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke for people who can't or won't take statins.
Because many factors are involved, your cholesterol numbers may be considered normal and yet you may still be found to be at an elevated risk for heart problems. As a result, statin medications are now used to lower the risk of heart disease and heart events in most anyone found to be at high risk.
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). If your risk is very high — for example, you've had a heart attack in the past — a statin may be helpful even if you don't have high cholesterol.