Statins good or bad?

[tamirra]

Please any information on Statins as soon as poss please. Thank you

[Sqad]

Not nearly enough information.

Are they for you?
Has the patient a family history of cardiovascular disease?
Has the patient had a lipid profile work up (Blood cholesterol)?
How old is the patient.

All these factors have to be taken into consideration before any relevant and useful answers can be given.

[tamirra]

Morning Sqad, im asking on behalf of both parents, father 70, mother 67, both high cholestrol, dont know of info on how high, but if you need to know i can always ask, my father had ecg done a few weeks ago, has a follow up app a week Weds as abnormal, mother no cardiovascular disease known, both parents suffering pain in legs, hips, feeling very tired, lumps appearing on legs and hands which feel like there burning, mother has sores on lips appearing, all since taking statins, over last few weeks. Thanks Sqad.

[Sqad]

OK.

The medical advice for such a situation would be to take statins and you can easily Google the side effects.

If I was in your fathers situation, I would not take statins.

Sorry to be so obtuse.

[tamirra]

Can you tell me why?

[Sqad]

It is my opinion that patients with a cholesterol level of between 5 and 7 they’re healthy. If it’s above 7, it’s probably due to a family history of high cholesterol and if any relatives have early heart disease then it’s worth taking a statin.

I believe statins have substantial side effects which can significantly affect quality of life. Some studies suggest such problems may be much more common than is recognised.

It is more complicated than this regarding HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol)

This is just my opinion, but what suggest that you talk it over with your GP

[tamirra]

My mothers is 6.7 and fathers 6.3 is this close enough to 7 to need the treatment in either parents. Thank you

[Sqad]

If those cholesterol figures were mine and I did not have a family history of EARLY heart disease and I was 70 yrs old, then I would not take statins.

[tamirra]

The prob being in my parents parents times, they didnt perform cholestrol tests as your prob aware, my mothers mum has very high blood pressure and was taking about 16 tabs a day and still it wouldnt come down which resulted in her death at 63 due to strokes, and my fathers dad he had clogged arteries in the leg, so we dont know if the leg being blocked was due to cholestrol.

[joannie10]

I love reading squads responses - always so informative. Excuse me butting in as cannot in anyway advise you - just curious but is there anything that your parents could do to reduce their cholestrol that may in turn help your mothers BP and in turn help the other issues, are they overweight?

[tamirra]

Hi joannie10, thanks for your input, your not butting in at all, my mother is not over weight, but my father could do with losing some, but the doc has told him he is fine with his weight, they have both been on low fat foods for years, so it cant be anything to do with the foods they eat. Thank you anyway. xx

[joannie10]

thanks- my parents are in their 70s and although my mum has always carried a little extra weight (my dad always been slim/active) we were surprised to hear their cholestrol was high as felt they always had a good diet but they made some changes, seemed like small things and sure enough cholestrol came down and my mum immediately lost weight which was good. thanks - I hope your parents health improves soon x

[tamirra]

Thanks Jo, mums got docs tomorrow, and dad has heart results a week tomorrow as ecg abnormal. xx