'Keep taking statins' says drug body

[Northerner]

People should continue to take statins because the benefits do outweigh the risks, according to fresh advice from the UK's drug safety body.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has intervened due to the ongoing debate around the harms of taking statins.

The drugs reduce levels of cholesterol in the blood, lowering the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

They are taken by about seven million people in the UK.

The MHRA said statins prevented 450 heart attacks, strokes, or deaths for every 10,000 patients taking the drugs over five years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27634000

 

[trophywench]

Lies, damn lies, and statistics - which one is this?

I don't see how they could know it prevents deaths, when they haven't actually proved that any of the heart attacks or strokes that killed the dead people WERE actually caused by high cholesterol !

See (God forbid) if my friend Anne had died of a heart attack, because her chol through familial hypercholesteremia, is usually between 9 and 11. She has also had an iffy valve in her heart for years and years. And as she has osteoporosis and isn't getting any younger anyway and didn't want to ache from anything else etc etc, she refused statins from Day 1.

Eventually they operated in January to repair the valve.

She had to have some complicated artery investigation before the op.

Guess what? NO plaque in any of them.

If she had died, you can bet your sweet bippy she'd have been a statistic !

 

[Vicsetter]

I've seen 2 programs on TV recently (I think Casualty and Doctors) where someone was suffering from an overdose of statins, which they said is very dangerous! (liver damage, kidney and muscle wasteage (rhabdomyolysis)).

No-one can say how many deaths, heart attacks etc have been prevented by statin use, it's just a statistical figure not an actual.

 

[Austin Mini]

My wife stoped taking simvistatins three months ago (after talking with her doctor). She controls her cholesterol with diet only and feels ten times better. Her cholesterol is now about 5 with the simvistatins it was 3.2 much too low.

 

[cherrypie]

MRHA should get all of their employees to take them is they are so marvellous.
Recommending something is very different than actually taking it.

 

[am64]

My husband has stopped his statins for 2nd time as he had developed terrible shakes in his hands ...he puts them down to the statins ...anyone else experienced this ?

 

[Northerner]

My wife stoped taking simvistatins three months ago (after talking with her doctor). She controls her cholesterol with diet only and feels ten times better. Her cholesterol is now about 5 with the simvistatins it was 3.2 much too low.

Mine went down to 2.4 when I was on them Austin 😱 They were very happy to tell me when my cholesterol was too high, but didn't seem to be able to answer my question about how low it could go to be safe

 

[Austin Mini]

am64. I have experienced my right hand going numb when I ride my motorcycle. This didnt happen when I was not on the simvistatins.