Aspirin and Statin for prevention

[olirindis]

Some advice please fellows,

Is there any value in taking Aspirin and a Statin from a preventative rather than therapeutic perspective?

Thanks......

[gingernut]

no & sometimes, depends on your risk.

[Grasscarp]

The most common statin side effects include headache, difficulty sleeping, flushing of the skin, muscle aches, tenderness, or weakness, drowsiness/ weakness, dizziness, nausea and/or vomiting, abdominal cramping and/or pain, bloating and/or gas,diarrohea, constipation and rashes. A more serious side effect is myositis, which is inflammation of the muscles, can be a side effect of statins. The risk of muscle injury increases when certain other medications are coupled with statin use. So, why would you want to take statins if they were not prescribed. If your worry is cholesterol level being too high, then you can get lots of advice online and in books on how to lower levels yourself. I got my own level down from 9.9 to 6.7 mainly by starting the day with porridge! Doctor has told me also to up my exercise.

[homonculus]

Statins are amazing drugs; we are still learning about their benefits - and risks.

They certainly reduce death rates from heart attacks and strokes in patients with raised risk factors, but data following people with NO risk factors show the death rate in also decreased in this group. Moreover, even if your cholesterol is in the normal range, statins appear to reduce risk.

Some evidence is emerging that statins may reduce Alzheimers and some cancers.

Because of this, there have been proposals that everyone over 40, or 50, should be on statins. However, they really do need to be monitored as they can cause abnormalities of liver function tests and so you need yearly blood tests for a few years, and also to be checked for muscle pains. For this reason many doctors think the Government was wrong to allow them to be sold over the counter but what would doctors know?

Aspirin is more complex. It is certainly beneficial for heart attacks and strokes in patients with risk factors, but several large studies have produced conflicting data on reduction in the normal popultation (the studies have been on doctors so may be they are not normal). In addition there is an increased incidence of bleeding from the gut so you have to be careful, not take other drugs with the same effect, stop them if you have any surgical stress etc etc.

My advice for what it is worth is that everyone over a certain age should be prescribed statins by their GP and be monitored. Aspirin should be restricted to those who can modulate dose etc - in practice doctors/ nurses. etc. This is for those with no risk factors. If you have risk factors you need to see your doctor

[Grasscarp]

Olirindis, this article helps in understanding what is behind the promotion of statins and more information about cholesterol and the reasons your body produces it (and needs it). Statins Industry Now Valued at $29 Billion (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/01/29-billion-reasons-to-lie-about-cholesterol.aspx)