Statinization of America

“I feel great. I’m healthier than I have ever been,” says an overweight middle-aged male.
“Well, in the next 10 years, you have a 25 percent risk of having a heart attack or stroke. That’s a little high,” I state as a gross understatement.
If this was me, I would be very concerned. That’s serious. I follow this with, “I think you need to consider a cholesterol medication. This has been shown to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.” “Is there anything else I can do instead?”
“Absolutely. Lower your weight to a healthy number, exercise 3-4 times per week and eat healthy foods,” which is what I have been preaching as long as I have had my medical degree to patients like this.
“I don’t want to start a statin. I don’t think I’m going to start exercising or losing weight either,” the patient replies in honesty. I will concede that statins are not without their problems such as muscle aches, which resolve once the medication is withheld. There are even some more quite rare problems such as liver inflammation and even severe liver injury; thankfully those problems also resolve once the medication is discontinued.
I will also concede that there would be very little need for statins in a population of people who lived at a healthy weight, who exercise regularly and eat healthy foods. Those people would receive very little benefit from a medication like this.
There are a lot of people out there who like to eat tasty foods, which may not be healthy at times. These people work long hours at difficult jobs and do not feel motivated to exercise after this grueling schedule. It is now very culturally acceptable to live at an unhealthy weight, where it was not so in previous generations. These combinations are a recipe for heart disease and stroke.
Statins have mounds of unbiased medical evidence that they really, truly reduce the rates of heart attack and stroke in many of those individuals.
There is now even a calculator now that helps calculate your 10-year risk of an event like a heart attack or stroke. If your number is 7.5 perent or higher, you may benefit from a statin. http://www.cvriskcalculator.com/.
Over-the-counter supplements such as Niacin (Vitamin B3), Fish Oil and other Omega-3 Fatty Acids such as Flax Seed Oil and Krill Oil; as well as another class of prescription medication called Fibrates have been conclusively shown to lower cholesterol levels...while having absolutely no effect on reducing heart attacks and strokes.
Medical providers are doing everything in their power to reduce the rates of heart attack and stroke in those individuals at risk. Lifestyle changes are the preferred method of treatment, but the “statin” medications exist to also help us reduce that risk.
Joshua Baker, DO
FAAFP