Statins – Usages

Statins-Usages , our today’s topic.   Statins are a group of medications, used to lower blood pressure. Statins usages help lower total cholesterol and reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Statins include atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin  (Lescol XL), lovastatin (Altoprev), pitavastatin (Livalo), pravastatin, rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor).Statins work by reducing the amount of cholesterol made by the liver and helping the liver remove cholesterol that is already in the blood. Statins-usage  may also reduce inflammation in the artery walls.

Contents :

• What is high blood pressure or hypertension ?
• Hypertension and Statins-usages.
• Who needs Stains ?
• Types of statins.
• Statins- usages.
• Side effects of statins.
• Last words.

What is high blood pressure  or hypertension ?

High blood pressure or hypertension is very common in these days among people. What is blood pressure ?  When  our heart put force to pump blood in our body, the force of blood stream against the inside walls of our arteries is measured. This is called blood pressure. When this force is too high, it is called high blood pressure or hypertension.  The arteries are blood vessels, which carry blood from the heart to the rest of our body.

If high blood pressure is left untreated, it may damage our arteries. and increase the risk of life threatening condition like heart attack or stroke. To treat high blood pressure or hypertension usually needs a combination of change of life style, dietary changes and medications. For more details pl. read our article “ Homeopathic clinic-Blood Pressure, A to Z, part-1 “

Hypertension and Statin-usages.

As mentioned above, Statins are a group of medication used to lower LDL  ( bad) cholesterol . Some researchers say, the Statins- usage may lower blood pressure too.

It is believed that high levels of LDL cholesterol is a cause of building up plaque in our arteries. If it is continued for a long period of  time, the cholesterol plaque will narrow blood’s pathways. This condition will reduce the amount of blood reaching our muscles and other organs. In such situation ,   the heart will need to work harder  to pump the blood to reach muscles and other organs. This condition will lead to increase blood pressure.

In case a heart artery is completely or partially blocked, a heart attack results. On the other hand if blood flow to the brain is blocked, a stroke will occur.

Who needs Statins ?

49 studies  were  conducted in 2023 involving 45,173  participants , and  found that Statin-usages may help to lower high blood pressure in people who have hypertension. Researchers agreed that statin usages  may do this by reducing:

• Cholesterol plaque buildup.
• Arterial narrowing  ( Atherosclerosis – Atherosclerosis is a common condition that develops when a sticky substance called plaque builds up inside our artery . Disease linked to atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in the United States. Atherosclerosis develops slowly as cholesterol, fat, blood cells and other substances in our blood form plaque.)
• Inflammation.
• Blood clots.

The authors , however, agreed that statin-usage do not remarkably lower high blood pressure. They agreed too to do more research to know the link between hypertension and statins.

Types of statins.

There are 7 types of statins being used for different health conditions. The best type of statins and its dosage will depend on your cholesterol levels and your risk of cardiovascular disease. The different types of statins are as under:

• Atorvastatin  (Lipitor)  ======Atorvastatin is in a class of medications called HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins). This type of statins-usages  works by slowing the production of cholesterol in the body to decrease the amount of cholesterol that may build up on the walls of the arteries and block blood flow to the heart, brain, and other parts of the body.
• Fluvastatin  (Lescol) ====== In adults, fluvastatin is indicated for hypercholesterolemia and mixed dyslipidemia to decrease the amount of total cholesterol in the blood. Specifically, this therapy reduces low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides and increases high-density lipoproteins.
• Lovastatin ( Mevacor, Altoprev).======LOVASTATIN (LOE va sta tin) treats high cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. It works by decreasing bad cholesterol and fats (such as LDL, triglycerides), and increasing good cholesterol (HDL) in our blood.
• Pitavastatin (Livalo) =======Pitavastatin is used together with a proper diet to lower high cholesterol levels and triglyceride (fat) levels in the blood and increase good cholesterol (HDL) in patients with primary hyperlipidemia or mixed dyslipidemia.
• Pravastatin ( Pravachol) =======PRAVASTATIN (PRA va sta tin) treats high cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. It works by decreasing bad cholesterol and fats (such as LDL, triglycerides), and increasing good cholesterol (HDL) in our blood.
• Rosuvastatin (Crestor) =====Rosuvastatin is used together with a proper diet to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides (fats) in the blood, and to increase our good cholesterol (HDL). It is also used to treat adults who cannot control their cholesterol levels by diet and exercise alone.
• Simvastatin ( Zocor) =====SIMVASTATIN (SIM va sta tin) treats high cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. It works by decreasing the bad cholesterol and fats (such as LDL, triglycerides), and increasing good cholesterol (HDL) in our blood.

A qualified and experienced doctor may recommend statin-usages best for you. He/she can also recommend a combination of certain statin or alternative to statin ( if you are allergic to statins )for lowering cholesterol.

Statin- usages.

If any one has a family history of cardiovascular disease and a high risk of heart problems,  statin usage is a great good news for him/her. AHA recommends the statin usage for the people who have the following symptoms :

• Their LDL cholesterol is greater than 190 mg/dl.
• They have history of stroke, heart attack and atherosclerosis.
• They are patients of diabetes and are 40 to 75 years old.
• They are 40 to 75 years old and have 10 years high risk of heart attack .

Side effects of statins-usages.

Like other  allopathic medications, statins have some potential side effects. If you are taking statins , you can experience the following side effects;

• Dizziness.
• Constipation.
• Diarrhea.
• Fatigue.
• Headache.
• Nausea.
• Vomiting.

It is quite possible that statins usages  may cause some more severe side effects, such as  :

• Brain fog.
• Flu-like symptoms such as fever.
• Hair loss.
• Muscle aches.
• Peripheral neuropathy.—-Peripheral neuropathy refers to any condition that affects the nerves outside your brain or spinal cord. This can happen for several reasons, from trauma to infections to inherited conditions. There are also many possible symptoms. Many causes, forms or symptoms of this condition are treatable, but this can vary widely from person to person.

source: healthline.com

Last words.

Statins definitely  have some severe side effects. Why we should take statins when we have another method to control our high blood pressure. That is lifestyle change. This is a natural way to control our high blood pressure without spending money. To reduce your high blood pressure in a natural way, you have to :

• Maintaining a healthy for you weight.
• Eat a well-balanced diet.
• Exercise regularly.
• Improve quality of your sleep.
• Quit smoking, if you smoke.
• Reduce sodium intake.
• Reduce alcohol and caffeine consumption to a low level.
• Pray every day as per your belief