Doctors often prescribe statins for people with high cholesterol to reduce their total cholesterol and reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke. However, as relayed by our colleagues in the Express, they have been associated with some side effects, including muscle pain, digestive problems and mental confusion in some people.
Statins
Statins include several types: atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and simvastatin.
Having too much cholesterol in your blood increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Statins block a substance that the liver needs to make cholesterol. This then causes the liver to remove cholesterol from the blood.
However, an analysis of several studies has shown that those who suffer from heart disease and who take a daily anti-cholesterol pill for five years will increase their life expectancy by only four days.
An analysis on the actual effectiveness of statins
An analysis of scientific studies has cast a new doubt on the effectiveness of heart medications and revives the debate on their real value.
A coalition of British and US experts joined forces to declare that there was no consistent evidence that these drugs reduce the death rate. They said the pro-statin lobby is funded by pharmaceutical giants and is based simply on "selective science."
Expert doctors suggest that the easiest and safest way to have a healthy heart is to eat healthy and exercise more.
According to Dr. Aseem Malhotra, consultant cardiologist and author of the analysis, it is clear that adequate changes in lifestyle give much more impressive results than those of current drugs, without side effects and with a much lower cost.
He also added that there does not appear to be a clear reduction in coronary heart disease mortality in Western European countries using statins, for primary prevention for low-risk patients and secondary prevention for at-risk patients. high.
Statins are used by millions of people and many of them complain of side effects, including muscle pain, memory loss, kidney problems and sleep disorders.
The report of the analysis in question, which has covered dozens of studies over two decades, has been published in the Clinical Pharmacist and concludes that cholesterol per se does not cause heart disease.
Among the studies that these experts have based on, we find a study published in 2015 in World Journal of Cardiology. It shows that lowering cholesterol does not necessarily lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. The researchers also concluded that the benefits of statins on mortality were low.
Another study published in 2017 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was also part of the studies analyzed. It focused on the effect of statins on the elderly in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The researchers concluded that statins had no primary prevention effect in elderly people with moderate hyperlipidemia and hypertension.
The experts' opinions
Scientific experts shared their opinion concerning this analysis and spoke to our colleagues at L'Express.
According to senior researcher Esther van Zuuren, it is time to review the evidence and stop letting the pharmaceutical companies and the food industry cover our eyes.
Dr. Malhotra of Stevenage Lister Hospital, Hertfordshire, and Robert Lustig of the University of California, report that there are 44 randomized controlled trials of cholesterol-lowering drug interventions in the prevention literature primary and secondary education, which show no benefit for the prevention of mortality.
They added that most of these trials did not reduce cardiovascular problems and many reported significant damage. Yet, these studies have not received much publicity.
Dr. Scott Murray, Consultant Cardiologist, Royal Liverpool Hospital, Professor Chris Oliver, University of Edinburgh, and Dr. Sir Richard Thompson, former Queen's Physician and former President of the Royal College of Physicians, supported the statin analysis.
According to Dr. Sir Richard, the theory that cholesterol in the blood is the enemy and therefore must be lowered at all costs, has diverted attention from the abnormal increase in sugar consumption that has greater influence on obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Professor Mark Baker of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said that heart disease and stroke kill one in three and invalidate many more. He added that to make progress in the fight against heart disease and stroke, physical activity, improved nutrition and stopping smoking should be encouraged.
He also said that people should focus on lifestyle changes more than taking statins. Only in this way can they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
