Statins reduce my risk of heart attack or stroke by 20%!

I started taking statins (Pravastatin 10mg/day) in January 2013 after I decided that statins would be good for my health.

With QRISK.org I reckon I have cut my risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years from 7.8% to 6.3%, a 20% reduction. I've had no side effects.

I can't be sure of course that it was the statins that caused the Cholesterol/HDL ratio reduction. Changes in my diet and / or exercise in the last year might have helped too.

Before I took Statins (3/1/13)

1 Year after taking Statins (21/3/14)

What's your QRISK?

Lipid Modification - NICE draft guidelines 2014

reposted from: http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=folder&o=66546

Consultation documents

• Full version
• Appendices
• NICE version
• Comments proforma

The full version describes the evidence and views that have been considered, and sets out the provisional recommendations that have been developed. My recommended read.

The NICE version presents the provisional recommendations only with some brief supporting information. My recommended read.

crabsallover highlights, key points, comments / links.

Statins aren't a wonder drug

reposted from: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/23/statins-not-wonder-drug-major-diseases?commentpage=2

crabsallover highlights, key points, comments / links.

Calculate risk of having a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years - use QRISK2

It takes seconds to calculate your risk: http://www.qrisk.org

New draft NICE guidelines may be ratified July 2014 recommending use of Statins if your risk of having a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years is 10% (cf. currently 20%).

See the great interactive 'how statins work'. viz

1. Cholesterol is produced mainly in the liver. There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. Too much bad, LDL-cholesterol, however, can cause hardening of the arteries. 
2. The liver contains an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase, which produces cholesterol ...
3. Statins replace the HMG-CoA that exists in the liver, thereby slowing down the cholesterol production process ...
4. The 'inhibition' of HMG-CoA enzyme by the statin has other effects, on top of reducing the amount of cholesterol produced. It also increases the production of LDL receptors, proteins which 'catch' the bad cholesterol and draw it into the liver cells to be broken down.

Modified by Chris Street from Guardian Feb 2014 http: //goo.gl/DRAo2R

Whilst NICE and Rory Collins are recommending use of Statins with 10% 10 year risk of heart attack or stroke, John Abramson, a clinician working at Harvard medical school claims his BMJ published analysis showed statins did not significantly reduce mortality in the 20% or 10% risk groups. (Guardian Feb 2014).

Saturated fats and heart disease link 'unproven'

reposted from: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/03March/Pages/Saturated-fats-and-heart-disease-link-unproven.aspx
and follow up by Fergus Walsh: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26622399 :-

'It said that - contrary to decades of public health advice - switching from saturated fats found in foods like butter, cheese and fatty meats, to polyunsaturated fats such as vegetable oils and fish - did not seem to have any benefit for the heart. 

This surprised not only me but the people who co-funded the research, the British Heart Foundation (BHF). 

Pretty much every respectable health body says that we should cut down on food that is high in saturated fat because it can cause cholesterol levels in the blood to build up. 

Raised cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease. Some unsaturated fats can lower blood cholesterol so the assumption has been that this will cut your heart disease risk. 

But the analysis of dozens of international studies did not yield clear evidence that switching to mono and polyunsaturated fats reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease. ' says Fergus Walsh.  More...

crabsallover highlights, key points, comments / links.