What you need to know about cholesterol
There are 100 pennies in a dollar and 100 years in a century. In addition to being the square of ten, the number 100 serves to mark milestones. However, when it comes to our cholesterol level, gone are the days where our physician would prescribe medications for levels greater than 100. Newly released guidelines by the two major American heart societies are now stating that bad cholesterol levels “are nothing but a number.” However, this means that 1 in 3 Americans will fall under the category of needing to take a cholesterol lowering medication! On our next visit, will our doctor tell us that we need one? Let’s take a closer look at what this may mean to you:
Dr. Nina’s What You Need To Know About Your Cholesterol:
Do I fall under the new recommendations to take medications?
If we have heart disease, are over the age of 40 years and have diabetes, or have an increased risk for heart disease we may very well be receiving a new prescription at our next doctor’s visit. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease include age, male gender, a family history of heart disease, smoking, poorly-controlled high blood pressure, obesity and physical inactivity. The American Heart Association’s website has an easy-to-use risk calculator that can help assess where we fall.
Why change the guidelines?
The answer is simple: to help us live longer and healthier lives. The new guidelines state that when cholesterol-lowering medications are combined with a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise habits and avoidance of tobacco products, the risk for heart attack, stroke and death decrease. They aim for a “whole-istic” approach, not an arbitrary cut-off of 100.
What is a statin?
It is a cholesterol-lowering drug that inhibits an enzyme in the liver that is responsible for synthesizing bad cholesterol. High levels of bad cholesterol accelerate the development of fatty plaques (atherosclerosis) inside blood vessel walls. This creates a blockage that reduces blood flow. Think of it as the thin portion of an hourglass. Blood flow is similar to the opening line of Days of Our Lives “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” By preventing plaque buildup that will hinder blood flow to your heart, you will likely have more days in your life.
Additionally, statins also decrease inflammation. Although inflammation is necessary to protect our body from bacterial and viral invaders, it causes cholesterol to become trapped within plaques. Without inflammation it is likely that cholesterol would move freely through the body as nature intended. Still not convinced? Imagine if we scratched our arm daily. We would see an inflammatory response that may include redness and bleeding. Over time, the damage would accumulate and become blistered or scarred. So why are we seeing an increase in inflammation and heart disease? Experts suspect the advent of highly processed carbohydrates, processed foods and smoking.
Do statins have side effects?
The most common side effect is muscle pain that manifests as soreness, weakness or muscle fatigue. It can range from mild discomfort to severe limitations that may prevent us from walking or climbing up a flight of stairs. If this occurs, speak with our doctor. The good news is that a different statin may work for us. We may have to go through 2 or 3 different medications before finding the one that we can tolerate. Other less common reactions to be aware of include rashes, digestive problems, liver damage and increased blood sugars.
The take-home message is that we should have a discussion with our doctor to determine if we, or a family member, would benefit from taking a statin. The goal is to get the right patient on the right statin at the right dose. These drugs are not a silver bullet that will eliminate our risk for heart disease, stroke or death. And some people may not be able to tolerate their side effects. But when combined with other healthy lifestyle interventions, they can potentially scare off the werewolf.
