Why ARE we still in a "Statin War"?
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- Опубликовано: 4 ноя 2024
- The "pro-statin" lobby just doesn't get it, not understanding why there is a "statins war" and calling people who question the widespread use of statins a "death cult."
In this video I look at the ideological differences between the two camps, and what you may need to do if your doctor is a pro-statin advocate.
[1] Why are we still in the middle of a ‘statins war’?
utswmed.org/me...
Joseph A Hill, MD, PhD
UT Southwestern Medical Blog, April 2019
[2] 2013 Pooled Cohort Equation Risk Calculator
www.uptodate.c...
[3] CardioBrief: Statin Denialism Is 'A Deadly Internet-Driven Cult'
www.medpagetod...
MedPage Today, July 2017
(A review of the original editorial.)
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DISCLAIMER: The following presentation and all presentations on this channel are for informational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Please consult with your personal physician when deciding whether to treat or not treat any condition with pharmaceuticals or by any other treatment or therapy. In particular, never change dosage, stop taking medications, or change a therapy because of something presented in this series without discussing your options with your primary care physician or other health professional.
The author is not a medical professional and is presenting his own story, research, and opinions as they apply to himself, and himself alone.
If you think you may be experiencing a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or dial 911.
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My doctor said since I refuse to take a statin there's no reason for him to even order a lipid panel blood test. I said "OK". But later I realized, wow! That was a tacit admission that he ONLY looks for opportunities to prescribe, not for problems in my health.
That's the only way THEY make money. No profit in health. It's sad.
I'm in the UK. My Diabetes nurses started pressurising me to take them when I turned 60. I've put in writing to thrir management that they must not mention "the S word" again to me for at least 10 years.
When the doctor likened statin denial to a cult... my doctor who looked at my total cholesterol number and prescribed me a statin FOR LIFE with no discussion or background data was robotically following a guideline/rule seems pretty cult like behaviour to me. Incidentally this was in a specialist lipids clinic and the doctor sat sideways to me looking at his PC monitor and barely made eye contact - the 'specialist' consultation lasted approximately 5 minutes. This one video of yours gives me more substantiated information than that consultation.
Great point! It never occurred to me that the statin-pushers often engage in cult-like behavior, but it's definitely true.
@@mystatinfreelife It is like the pot calling the kettle black. They are so obsessed with getting everyone to join the statin religion,it's just scary.
BECAUSE THEY ARE CRAP. THEY PUT ME ON THEM AFTER ANGINA AND THEY SAY ITS FOR REST OF YOUR LIFE, I WAS ON THEM 10 YEARS AND COULD HARDLY WALK, SO I TOOK MYSELF OFF THEM AND 6 YEARS BETTER AT AGE OF 73,
Similar to my experience, except it wasn't for angina, just for high total cholesterol. I took myself off them after 10 years on them, and like you feel much better.
I have had 3 CACs done over the past 15 years and all had a zero score but my doc is not insisting on statins because of my high LDL score in spite of the fact that all my other blood work is perfect and I have no metabolic issues, no diabetes, etc. I’m 67 and mostly eat a keto/carnivore diet and I feel great. I’ve got to find another doctor. I am not on Medicare yet.
Yes, and because there’s more ideology than science with many doctors, the doctor is likely to take it as a personal affront when the patient declines the prescription. It’s hard to keep the relationship positive and respectful while simply exercising your right to choose.
With statins being one of the most prescribed drugs, why is heart disease still the number one cause of death? Maybe my logic is too simple but I can’t resolve this in my simple mind.
Other factors came into play in 2021.
Clearly statins don't prevent heart attacks.
@@jeremyashford2145the Covid jab.
Sugar was my first addiction too,(then Booze!) with consequent damage to my Health. Apparently the general "Number Needed to Treat", is something over 400..
Totally agree. My HDL is up and Tg down. I am a lean mass hyper responder with LDL low 200s and total cholesterol low 300s. Off statin post 20 years and borderline diabetic. 67 years/o retired primary care physician and lost 50# on keto!
Yellow fingers, from smoking, is correlated with dying from lung cancer. Prescribing a "miracle soap" that reduces yellow fingers will not reduce deaths from lung cancer. LDL is correlated with cardiovascular disease, but the common denominator is excess carbohydrates, especially fructose, and polyunsaturated fats, both of which cause oxidative stress with damage to endothelial cells, insulin receptors, and mitochondria.
Statins are THE biggest profit point in pharma companies.
Very nice metaphor! I'm going to use that, thank you! (Simile? I always forget which is which!)
Very well said! Total truth!
@@lynnettespolitics9656that's because you're a politician out to trick and to scare people. More into shocking people than facts. Another reason your political system is the way it is.
This is another outstanding video, Russ. With regard to CAD "risk calculators," I asked my cardiologist recently, "why has the LDL-C measurement been REMOVED from the the United States and European risk calculators." He really didn't have a good answer. My takeaway is that LDL-C levels are pretty much irrelevant when it comes to establishing risk of having a heart atttack or any MACE. As investigator, Ivor Cummins, opines- TRIG/HDL is at least 7 times more important than LDL-C when it comes to predicting development of atherosclerosis and future MACE!
Interestingly, I see some people say the Trigs/HDL ratio is oversold and meaningless. My doctor is always interested in my ratio though. I agree with Ivor Cummins and would like mine to be better.
@@mystatinfreelife Even TG/HDL is just downstream of insulin and mitochondrial dysfunction caused by high insulin.
Insulin is what matters...
? Please point us to the risk calculators that have removed LDL-C. Thank you.
@@techadsr Just do a search for "cardiovascular risk calculator" and you will see that many of these calculators have NO LDL-C even listed.
In addition, do a seach entitled "LDL does not cause heart disease" and your search engine will light up like a Christmas tree.
Risk may show up in the cholesterol panel. But how do you tell them stress is the issue.
Your presentation speaks to my own sentiment and understanding exactly, put clearly and comprehensively. That being said, my experience is that people who believe in the medical profession simply won't be moved by rational argument, as you make here, and, ironically, it is some sort of thoughtless or compliance out of fear or irrational belief in conventional medical 'science', that is 'cultish'.
Every thing in America is bipolar or binary. Your either for it or against it. Where opposites attack.
If the statin research wasn't funded by the pharmaceutical industry, it may be found that statins cause more harm then good. Studies with negative results have been thrown out for obvious reasons. We won't give up on Ancel Keys hypothesis.
I am grateful I stumbled on this. I am statin intolerant. I feel horrible when I take them. I have familial hyperlipidemia. I was also insulin resistant and overweight. I have lost 30 pounds through diet and exercise and I was placed on metformin and my A1c is normal now for over a year. My doctor put me on Nextlizet and I took it for over a year and my numbers went down. I dread going back in a few months because I have stopped taking it. the cost and side effects aren’t worth it. I have been vigilant with diet, exercise, and the usual supplements. I am tired of the battle with my doctor. I have never had hypertension and I am 70 years old yet here I am dreading having to face the battle again. I appreciate your input. I think I am more inclined to stand my ground. Thanks!
Nextlizet is a combination of bempedoic acid and ezetimibe. I wonder if your adverse effects are from only one of the two. Or even from lower cholesterol than is natural for you. I should do a video specifically on statins for people over 70, as many doctors, even otherwise pro-statin doctors, don't prescribe them in that situation.
Doctors cannot force treatment on patients. You can say no. If they fire you, then you know they really don't care about your health.
_"Drugs are emphasized over lifestyle changes."_
Exactly. That's a problem.
Russ, thanks for the video. Another good one. I liked your list of other indicators for the risk calculators.
What I want to know is this: If statins are such wonder drugs that everyone should be taking them, what percentage of doctors who prescribe statins for their patients actually take them themselves? Of the three doctors who insist that I MUST take a statin for the rest of my life or I'm going to die, none of them are taking statins themselves. Inquiring minds want to know. Also, I think that the kind of scare tactic pressure that many (most?) doctors put on patients to scare them into taking statins is outright malpractice. If doctor does not have a compelling, sound, "patient specific," scientifically supported medical reason for prescribing a statin for the individual in question, then prescribing a statin for that patient IS malpractice. We now know (those of us who take the time to follow the current research) that the actual benefit that can be derived from statins is very small and is nowhere near what the Pharmaceutical industry claims, and that many doctors parrot to their patients. In my case, I had a mild heart attack which necessitated the placement of two stents. I was then told that I "had to" take a statin for the rest of my life or I would have another heart attack and likely die. The not so subtle implication was that this was an imminent risk, i.e., "You might die this week." My response was, "Doc, I'm 77 years old. I'm gonna die one of these days whether I take statins or not." [response] "But it'll happen sooner if you don't take a statin." [me] "How much sooner?" [response] " 37% reduction of risk ...add years to your life." [me] "That does not align with the very recent research I've been reading. Would you like me to send you some references?" With a very intense scowl, the doc scribbled out a prescription for Lipitor, thrust it into my hand, and left the room without saying another word. So I did a little more research. I read up on two very large meta-studies involving many thousands of people. The stated goal of both these studies was to determine how much longer people who took statins as directed lived, compared to people who either refused to take statins altogether, or who took them but quit after a few moths. The results shocked everybody. Those who took stains as directed lived, on average, 4 DAYS longer than those who didn't take statins. (To be fair, one study found the difference to be 4 1/2 days.) If those results hold up to additional scrutiny then the actual medical benefit to be derived from taking a statin is effectively ZERO!!! For someone my age, that works out to an increase in life expectancy of 0.02% which is pretty damned close to zero. Additionally, to the best of my knowledge there has been no research at all into what OTHER [potentially harmful] effects statins may have. We know that they significantly reduce the body's production of CoQ10, the full importance of which we are not yet aware, though it does appear to play a significant role in preventing blood clot formation. Cholesterol plays no part in the initiation of the formation of a blood clot. Once a clot has begun to form, cholesterol (among other things) can become trapped by the clot and thus contribute to it's growth, but cholesterol does NOT CAUSE blood clots. Fibrinogen's primary function is to AID IN THE FORMATION OF BLOOD CLOTS, yet no one is suggesting that we create a medication to suppress the formation of fibrinogen. Instead, the pharmaceutical industry has declared War on cholesterol which is simply an innocent bystander that gets caught up in the fibrin that is formed from fibrinogen (in response to inflammation) for the express purpose of causing a blood clot. The worst part of this "Statin Conspiracy" (and something that the pharmaceutical industry does NOT want you to know) is that there are enzymes that are readily available, inexpensive, and have no significant side effects that not only dissolve excess cholesterol, but also work to dissolve clots that have already begun to form (imagine that). Two of these enzymes which are readily available as supplements are nattokinase and serrapeptase. As always, the conventional wisdom is that you should consult your doctor before starting any medication or supplement. The problem here is that very few doctors are aware of these particular supplements, and even fewer are willing to discuss them as alternatives to statins, so you have to do your own research. There are a few Cardiologists who have read the research and are now recommending them as alternatives to statins. Nattokinase is by far the most widely studied of these supplements. The following is a link to an article published by the National Library of Medicine. [Sorry, no link. GOOGLE "National Library of Medicine" and then search on that site for "nattokinase".] A good resource for information on general cardiovascular health is the RUclips channel "Dr. Boz [Annette Bosworth, MD]"
Thanks for your thoughtful and insightful comment. (Note: RUclips doesn't allow viewers to put links in comments - but I think I can. here is one such link: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5372539/ )
I will have to add Nattokinase to my list of topics, as others have mentioned it also.
Thank you sir for this concise, articulate summary of the issue of statin efficacy, risk factors and the importance of lifestyle treatment
We appreciate your channel, Russ!!!🤝👍😃
I had very high CAC score due to both a near fatal infection and the drugs that obliterated that pathogen. A carnivore lifestyle dropped my CAC 500 points in three years. My cardiologist ignored this in our last appointment and still pushed statins, which are, after all hepatic toxins. He's drunk the cholesterol hypothesis Kool Aid. My HDL/trigs run 80/54, and I'm kinda curious to see the CAC after another couple years.
Fantastic results! Let us know the results of the next CAC.
My doctor never discusses why I am on 80 mg of Lipitor and what it would do to my body.
@@gerrymcmonigal1597 I wouldn't take lipitur for ten million dollars. It crosses the blood/brain barrier. Your brain is mostly cholesterol...
Has anyone added vax status to cardiac risk calculators?
None that I've seen. They seem to be based on large populations from randomized control trials. I doubt any pharmaceutical company has any interest in running such trials.
Reading the book “ How to Lie with Statistics “ is an essential read!!! It shows how they got 36% reduction of heart attack when the real number is 1.1%☠️
@@racegts It's on my desk where I make the videos! 😁
There's not enough said about the statin-thyroid connection, imo. As thyroid tends to raise cholesterol, statins are the go-to remedy. However, what little research there is shows that thyroid patients are more susceptible to adverse statin effects. Levothyroxine takers, beware!
Good topic for me to look into.
@@mystatinfreelife Thanks! Looking forward to your findings.
Thank you.
Thank you!