Statins: A Misunderstanding

Statins are one of the most prescribed drugs in the world, and they do work just as they are supposed to. These are drugs like Vytorin, Lipitor, Crestor, Pravachol, etc... They are made to lower cholesterol, therefore reducing the risk of a heart attack. But here is where the misconception comes in. Most users do not have established heart disease, they just have high cholesterol. Therefore these users may think it helps them to live longer, but they are actually not helping as much as people may think. Studies have shown that statins did not lower mortality on the same group of people. The reason is that just because these drugs help the heart, they are not helping the patient. Heart disease can have other affects on a person as well that must be looked at. These drugs are definetly overrated in my opinion and somewhat misunderstood. Some patients may think these drugs are prolonging their life, but there is no proof to show that they are. Another problem with these drugs is that their side effects have not been studied well enough. Some side effects are reported to be muscle pain and cognitive problems. Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, a retired Swedish physician, has said that "Statins have side effects that are underrated." It's much more frequent and serious than has been reported." Ask anyone who uses these drugs, some days you can really feel these side effects a lot more than you are supposed to. The point is, although they are great drugs, they are not all that they are cracked up to be.