1. < Heart & Blood Health

Side Benefits of Statins

Posted by tim1028 @tim1028, Dec 19, 2018

I was recently started on statins due to an increased cardiac risk. My understanding was that statins are used primarily to lower LDL cholesterol levels to below 70. I've been doing some research of published studies about the heart-healthy side benefits from statins. Here is the list I came up with. Please feel free to add any other benefits that you know about that are not listed.

 Improved or restored endothelial function (by nitric oxide biosynthesis)
 Decreased oxidative stress, (imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants
in your body. Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules with an
uneven number of electrons) protecting cell walls from being damaged by
cholesterol.
 Decreased vascular inflammation
 Inhibited thrombogenic reaction, including platelet aggregation
 Increased vascular function, widening arteries to carry more blood
 Reversal of negative effects on heart
 Lessened heart thickening and chamber enlargement
 50% decreased heart attack and stroke risk
 Cholesterol drawn out of plaque
 Plaque regression parallels LDL cholesterol decrease
 Increased plaque stability ( Plaque instability is related to a thin fibrous
capsule with high macrophage content.) by decreasing macrophage
accumulation and cholesterol ester content in plaque and increasing
collagen component.
 Increased activity of endothelial progenitor cells to promote
revascularization of ischemic tissue
 Protects cardiovascular cells directly by speeding DNA repair
and slowing cell death
 Reduced blood viscosity, facilitating blood flow through partially
blocked arteries.
 Inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation
 Increased expression of atheroprotective genes

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Kanaaz Pereira, Connect Moderator | @kanaazpereira | Dec 21, 2018

Hi @tim1028,

I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to write about the benefits of statins. I particularly like the first point about "Improved or restored endothelial function (by nitric oxide biosynthesis)” I’d also like to explain why I feel there may be some discrepancies in this list.

Whenever claims or opinions about medical/health issues are made, it’s best to validate and support those with a citation or published studies. For example, the following notes...
– Protects cardiovascular cells directly by speeding DNA repair and slowing cell death
– Increased expression of atheroprotective genes
...are mainly theoretical, and haven’t yet been established by any clinical trials or studies.

Also, some other points about statins in the list – 50% decreased heart attack and stroke risk – Reversal of negative effects on heart – may be a bit exaggerated. I couldn’t find much online to confidently state that.

@tim1028, please feel free to let me know if I can help answer any questions or concerns you might have. Thank you for allowing me to add my thoughts to your post which, as I noted, has some good information; statins have obtained a "bad reputation" when it comes to side effects, despite the fact that benefits outweigh the risks.

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1 reply
pcspetpro | @pcspetpro | Dec 21, 2018

Both doctors and patients need to understand the difference between Relative and Absolute risk/reward before making decisions.

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tim1028 | @tim1028 | Dec 21, 2018
In reply to @kanaazpereira "Hi @tim1028, I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to write about the benefits of statins...." + (show)
@kanaazpereira

Hi @tim1028,

I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to write about the benefits of statins. I particularly like the first point about "Improved or restored endothelial function (by nitric oxide biosynthesis)” I’d also like to explain why I feel there may be some discrepancies in this list.

Whenever claims or opinions about medical/health issues are made, it’s best to validate and support those with a citation or published studies. For example, the following notes...
– Protects cardiovascular cells directly by speeding DNA repair and slowing cell death
– Increased expression of atheroprotective genes
...are mainly theoretical, and haven’t yet been established by any clinical trials or studies.

Also, some other points about statins in the list – 50% decreased heart attack and stroke risk – Reversal of negative effects on heart – may be a bit exaggerated. I couldn’t find much online to confidently state that.

@tim1028, please feel free to let me know if I can help answer any questions or concerns you might have. Thank you for allowing me to add my thoughts to your post which, as I noted, has some good information; statins have obtained a "bad reputation" when it comes to side effects, despite the fact that benefits outweigh the risks.

Jump to this post

Thanks for your reply. I have included a link to an published study related to statins and atheroprotective genes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5482202/

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pcspetpro | @pcspetpro | Dec 21, 2018

One should be aware of all the possible benefits and negative effects of statins. I have read many accounts of problematic side effects, both in the short and long term. It does seem that the benefit of statins may not be in the fact that they lower LDL but that they lower inflammation. There are other methods to lower inflammation that could also be considered. CVD is complicated and still somewhat of a mystery, there are many new theories that need to be researched. I feel it's important to stay open to all new research and possibilities, ultimately everyone has to make their own choices.
Is it possible that Heart Disease and Diabetes have the same cause?

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1 reply
Martin Jensen, Volunteer Mentor | @predictable | Dec 21, 2018
In reply to @pcspetpro "One should be aware of all the possible benefits and negative effects of statins. I have..." + (show)
@pcspetpro

One should be aware of all the possible benefits and negative effects of statins. I have read many accounts of problematic side effects, both in the short and long term. It does seem that the benefit of statins may not be in the fact that they lower LDL but that they lower inflammation. There are other methods to lower inflammation that could also be considered. CVD is complicated and still somewhat of a mystery, there are many new theories that need to be researched. I feel it's important to stay open to all new research and possibilities, ultimately everyone has to make their own choices.
Is it possible that Heart Disease and Diabetes have the same cause?

Jump to this post

Your cautions about too much faith in positive side effects of statins are prudent, @pcspetpro, and you're on target advising us to be sure about the negative side effects as well. I'll be interested to learn more about the suspected relationship between heart disease and diabetes.

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pcspetpro | @pcspetpro | Dec 21, 2018

The video is very interesting, Ivor Cummins is an engineer with a passion to understand heart disease.

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