Study Finds Statins Stop Stroke, but Starts Diabetes

If you take certain medications to improve your heart wellness, you may be putting your wellbeing at risk to other health concerns. This is according to a new study, published in the British Medical Journal, which found that some drugs taken to protect the heart may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, wellness experts still argue that the benefits of statins outweigh any potential risks.

The Canadian researchers studied 1.5 million people over the age of 66 and compared the incidence of diabetes between people taking different statins. They found that powerful statins could increase type 2 diabetes risk by 22% compared with weaker drugs. For every 160 patients treated, Atorvastatin was linked to one extra case of diabetes. Statins work to lower your levels of bad cholesterol in the blood, in order to reduce your chances of a heart attack or stroke. These drugs are commonly prescribed, and all medications come with side-effects, yet the team of researchers from hospitals in Toronto cited recent controversy around the risk of diabetes with different statins.

According to the researchers’ report, ‘We found that patients treated with atorvastatin, rosuvastatin, or simvastatin were at increased risk of new onset diabetes compared with those treated with pravastatin.’ The study authors noted, ‘Clinicians should considers this risk when they are contemplating statin treatment for individual patients,’ as ‘preferential use of pravastatin… might be warranted.’

Professor Risto Huupponen and Professor Jorma Viikari, from the University of Turku, in Finland, commented on the study, noting that ‘the overall benefit of statins still clearly outweighs the potential risk of diabetes.’ However, that is not to say that you should go ahead and take any statin, as the professors asserted that different statins should be targeted at the right patients. ‘The most potent statins, at least in higher doses, should preferably be reserved for patients who do not respond to low-potency treatment, but have a high total risk of cardiovascular disease,’ they said.

Maureen Talbot, from the British Heart Foundation, explained, ‘Statins are taken safely by millions in the UK and protect those at high risk of developing coronary heart disease. Although this study suggests an increased risk of older people developing diabetes when taking certain statins, other risk factors like being overweight, family history and ethnicity may have played their part. There are benefits and risks with all medicines so if you’re worried, discuss your concerns with your GP.’

Categories: Diabetes, Research, statins

Statins: High Doses can Reduce Repeat Heart Attack Risk

Statins, used to reduce cholesterol levels, may also protect patients who have suffered from a heart attack from a repeat event.

Statins are normally prescribed to lower the rate of so-called “bad” cholesterol in the blood by reducing the production of this low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the liver.

However, a new Canadian study has revealed that statins can also play an important role in preventing repeat heart attacks.

Researchers from the Institute of Clinical Evaluation Sciences and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, in Toronto, found that intensive doses of statins can stop older patients who have had a heart attack from recurring coronary events.

The study involved analysing the data of more than 17,000 patients over the age of 65 who had suffered a heart attack, comparing the details of those prescribed an intensive dose of statins with those prescribed a moderate dose when being discharged from hospital.

The five-year rate of death for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was 44.8% for patients on high statin doses compared with a death rate of 46.5% for those on moderate doses. Both sets of patients faced a similar risk of developing type 2 diabetes in that five-year period.

The study concluded that doctors treating older patients with ACS should be more bold in prescribing high doses of statins to prevent those patients suffering a repeat heart attack.

Its findings were published in the journal Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Categories: Heart Attack, risk, statins

Statins: High Doses can Reduce Repeat Heart Attack Risk

Statins, used to reduce cholesterol levels, may also protect patients who have suffered from a heart attack from a repeat event.

Statins are normally prescribed to lower the rate of so-called “bad” cholesterol in the blood by reducing the production of this low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the liver.

However, a new Canadian study has revealed that statins can also play an important role in preventing repeat heart attacks.

Researchers from the Institute of Clinical Evaluation Sciences and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, in Toronto, found that intensive doses of statins can stop older patients who have had a heart attack from recurring coronary events.

The study involved analysing the data of more than 17,000 patients over the age of 65 who had suffered a heart attack, comparing the details of those prescribed an intensive dose of statins with those prescribed a moderate dose when being discharged from hospital.

The five-year rate of death for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was 44.8% for patients on high statin doses compared with a death rate of 46.5% for those on moderate doses. Both sets of patients faced a similar risk of developing type 2 diabetes in that five-year period.

The study concluded that doctors treating older patients with ACS should be more bold in prescribing high doses of statins to prevent those patients suffering a repeat heart attack.

Its findings were published in the journal Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Categories: Heart Attack, risk, statins

Can Statins Really Improve Your Erectile Dysfunction?

It has recently been reported that statins can help improve male sexual health, as they are claimed to be a cheap and effective treatment for erectile dysfunction. However, the study this is are based on, which was published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Impotence Research, does not support these wellness claims.

The study carried out by researchers from Tanta University in Egypt was relatively small, only involving 60 men whose wellbeing was affected by erectile dysfunction, and had failed to respond to treatment with Viagra. The aim of the research was to determine if a statin drug called atorvastatin, which is typically used to treat high cholesterol, could also be effective in improving erectile dysfunction. The researchers also compared this treatment with vitamin E and a placebo.

The men were given one of the three treatments for six weeks, and those who received statin drug showed a significant improvement in some measures of erectile dysfunction. Yet this was a modest improvement at best, and when the treatment finished the men’s erectile function was still not considered to be within the normal range. This means that atorvastatin may help to treat the symptoms of erectile dysfunction, but not to such an extent that it is really effective overall, especially when compared to Viagra.

According to the study’s authors, the research was largely limited by the fact that the team did not look into the benefits of a combination of Viagra with atorvastatin (Lipitor) or vitamin E. In other words, the researchers did not assess whether Viagra was effective as a follow-up treatment for erectile function after therapy with the statin drug, but this may be another avenue to pursue. As statins did modestly improve erectile dysfunction, men could potentially be more responsive to Viagra after treatment.

For the researchers to be able to draw firmer conclusions about the potential benefits of this drug to treat erectile dysfunction in men who do not respond to Viagra, they need to carry out larger trials that assess the safety and effectiveness of atorvastatin over periods longer than six weeks. As it stands, statins are not licensed for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and cannot be recommended as such. Furthermore, statins are not safe or suitable for everyone and so you should only take them when your doctor recommends that you do.

Can Statins Really Improve Your Erectile Dysfunction?

Categories: erectile dysfunction, Research, statins

Can Statins Really Improve Your Erectile Dysfunction?

It has recently been reported that statins can help improve male sexual health, as they are claimed to be a cheap and effective treatment for erectile dysfunction. However, the study this is are based on, which was published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Impotence Research, does not support these wellness claims.

The study carried out by researchers from Tanta University in Egypt was relatively small, only involving 60 men whose wellbeing was affected by erectile dysfunction, and had failed to respond to treatment with Viagra. The aim of the research was to determine if a statin drug called atorvastatin, which is typically used to treat high cholesterol, could also be effective in improving erectile dysfunction. The researchers also compared this treatment with vitamin E and a placebo.

The men were given one of the three treatments for six weeks, and those who received statin drug showed a significant improvement in some measures of erectile dysfunction. Yet this was a modest improvement at best, and when the treatment finished the men’s erectile function was still not considered to be within the normal range. This means that atorvastatin may help to treat the symptoms of erectile dysfunction, but not to such an extent that it is really effective overall, especially when compared to Viagra.

According to the study’s authors, the research was largely limited by the fact that the team did not look into the benefits of a combination of Viagra with atorvastatin (Lipitor) or vitamin E. In other words, the researchers did not assess whether Viagra was effective as a follow-up treatment for erectile function after therapy with the statin drug, but this may be another avenue to pursue. As statins did modestly improve erectile dysfunction, men could potentially be more responsive to Viagra after treatment.

For the researchers to be able to draw firmer conclusions about the potential benefits of this drug to treat erectile dysfunction in men who do not respond to Viagra, they need to carry out larger trials that assess the safety and effectiveness of atorvastatin over periods longer than six weeks. As it stands, statins are not licensed for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and cannot be recommended as such. Furthermore, statins are not safe or suitable for everyone and so you should only take them when your doctor recommends that you do.

Can Statins Really Improve Your Erectile Dysfunction?

Categories: erectile dysfunction, Research, statins