The most effective and cost-effective treatment option to prevent or reduce morbidity
is treatment with statins.
Statins work by reducing the levels of all fat or cholesterol in our blood. The advantage or effect is clearly visible after at least one year of treatment.
Global burden of cardiovascular disorders
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), myocardial ischemia is the cause of 16% of deaths globally. In total, 8.9 million people died of ischemic heart disease in 2019 (5✔ ✔Trusted source
Top 10 causes of death
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).
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One of the main risk factors for these diseases is dyslipidemia or hyperlipidemia (excess lipids or cholesterol in the blood), and the prevalence of dyslipidemia is very high globally.
Statins are commonly used
- Atorvastatin
- Rosuvastatin
- Fluvastatin
- Simvastatin
- Pravastatin
- Pitavastatin, etc.
Safety of Statins
Common side effects include headache, dizzymuscle pain, sleep disturbances, digestive problems, feeling tired or weak (6✔ ✔Trusted source
overview
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). Uncommon side effects include muscle damage, liver damage, increased risk type 2 diabetessexual problems, memory problems, hair lossacne, etc.
Uncommon side effects often develop after prolonged treatment with high-dose statins. Adverse events are more common in elderly patients due to multiple comorbidities, impaired liver and kidney function, and possible drug interactions with statins. However, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages of statin treatment and therefore statin therapy should be encouraged.
Presenter :
- Statin therapy in elderly patients – (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31671689/)
- Pravastatin in the elderly at risk of vascular disease (PROSPER): a randomized controlled trial – (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12457784/)
- MRC/BHF Heart Protection Study of cholesterol lowering with simvastatin in 20,536 high-risk subjects: a randomized placebo-controlled trial – (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12114036/)
- Efficacy and safety of statin therapy in older adults: meta-analysis of individual participant data from 28 randomized controlled trials – (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS01406736(18)31942-1/fulltext)
- Top 10 causes of death – (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death#:~:text=The%20top%20global%20causes%20of,birth% 20 asphyxiation% 20and% 20 birth% 20trauma% 2C)
- Overview – (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/statins/)
- Studying the effect of further lowering cholesterol and homocysteine (FIND): features of a randomized trial of 12064 myocardial infarction survivors – (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17967584/)
Source: Medindia
