Statins improve the lipid profile, i.e. lower the level of total cholesterol and LDL fraction, increase HDL and moderately lower the concentration of triglycerides. Increased blood cholesterol promotes cardiovascular disease, and it is not always possible to lower it only through a low-fat diet and greater physical activity. Sometimes the only option is to take statins.

Statinsare drugs that lowerblood cholesterol .Cholesterolis a fatty compound that does not dissolve in the blood. It is necessary for the construction of cell membranes, good digestion, and the production and assimilation of vitamin D. To be able to move around the body, it must bind to special transport proteins. Fat-protein molecules are formed that differ in the proportion of components, thereby forming two cholesterol fractions. The particles consisting of a large amount of low-density cholesterol in a thin protein shell are cholesterolLDL ; those with more protein and less high-density cholesterol make up theHDLfraction.

Read: In the cholesterol trap

LDL particles are often called bad cholesterol because they easily penetrate the blood and build up on the walls of arteries as deposits. There, they create an atherosclerotic plaque that constricts and stiffens the arteries. Initially, the effects of this process are not felt, but over time, the arteries become more and more plaque and the blood cannot flow freely. Cardiovascular disease is developing and the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke is dramatically increased.

Cholesterol limits exceeded

The level of cholesterol in the blood depends on many factors, including age, diet, exercise, certain medical conditions. In European countries it has been assumed that the desired value of total cholesterol in an adult human should remain at the level of 190 mg / dl, but the concentration of approx. 200 mg / dl is also considered correct. So if subsequent tests show that this norm is exceeded, even by only 25 mg / dl, you must strive to lower cholesterol. People who do not have other burdens, such as high blood pressure, can limit themselves to diet, increase physical activity and use over-the-counter cholesterol-lowering preparations.When this does not help and the hypercholesterolaemia persists, your doctor may recommend micro-dose statins - they are effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels. They are also given without delay to people who have had a heart attack or stroke, or who have had kidney damage due to high cholesterol levels.

See the gallery of 7 photosImportant

Good lipid profile

The concentrations of cholesterol and its fractions in the blood serum, which were recognized as normal by cardiologists, are:

  • total cholesterol: 150-190 / 200 mg / dl
  • LDL cholesterol: 66-130 mg / dL (Desired level: less than 115 mg / dL)
  • HDL cholesterol (men): 35-70 mg / dL (Desired concentration: greater than 40 mg / dL)
  • HDL cholesterol (women): 40-80 mg / dL (Desired value: greater than 45 mg / dL)
  • triglycerides: 35-150 mg / dl

Statins - chemical blockade

Statins work by inhibiting the production of cholesterol in the liver by blocking an enzyme that makes it possible to synthesize, i.e. attach, cholesterol molecules to transport proteins. Another feature of this group of drugs is that they capture the unfavorable LDL fraction and send it to the liver, where it is excreted from the body. Many clinical studies show that the use of statins lowers the level of LDL in the blood by an average of 18-55%, and triglycerides by 7-30%. and at the same time increases HDL concentration by 5-15 percent. The drugs also have anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant properties, and prevent heart attacks - both the first and the next.

Lots of pros and cons of statins

Taking statins improves the lipid profile, i.e. lowers the level of total cholesterol and LDL fraction, increases HDL and moderately lowers the concentration of triglycerides. It gives measurable he alth effects:

  • the process of atherosclerotic plaque development is inhibited or it even completely disappears;
  • by approx. 25 percent the risk of cardiovascular complications in patients with diabetes is reduced. In people without diabetes, the preventive effect of statins is less spectacular. The risk of complications is usually reduced by 15-20%;
  • in people at risk of gallstone disease, long-term use of statins significantly reduces the risk of stone formation, and therefore also the need to remove the gallbladder.

Unfortunately, statins can have side effects that mainly occur with chronic high-dose treatment. Typically, these are gastrointestinal complaints, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, insomnia, and allergic reactions. The most common major activityhepatic impairment is undesirable. As long as the levels of liver enzymes (ALT, AST) are less than three times the upper limit of normal, treatment may be continued with caution under the control of blood levels of transaminases.

Statin drugs are best taken with an evening meal or at bedtime. It is best to drink them with water. Warning! Drinking grapefruit juice and eating raw grapefruits will raise your blood statin levels and may increase your risk of side effects.

The most serious side effect with statins is myopathy (damage to the striated muscle), showing signs of muscle weakness and / or pain. These symptoms are accompanied by a tenfold increase in creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity above the upper limit of normal. If you do not stop taking your statin off, rhabdomyolysis, which is an excessive increase in the concentration of myoglobin, a protein released from muscle cells and filtered by the glomeruli, can result, which can lead to acute kidney failure.

Therefore, statins are only introduced into treatment when cholesterol levels have not been reduced to the desired concentration by diet and lifestyle changes, or by using plant sterols or natural substances that help lower cholesterol (see the box on the right). When deciding to use statins, the doctor must always take into account the accompanying diseases (e.g. diabetes, liver, biliary tract and kidney diseases), and monitor the liver function by regularly measuring the concentration of transaminases in the blood and lipidogram, and in case of pain or muscle weakness - determine the activity of creatine phosphokinase (CPK).

Contraindications to statin treatment include: chronic liver diseases, pregnancy and breastfeeding, the use of antifungal drugs and metabolic antibiotics, i.e. those that affect metabolic processes or the structure of pathogenic microorganisms.

You must do it

Bet on fiber

Soluble fiber, called pectin, is especially valuable in the fight against excess cholesterol. It inhibits the absorption of food-derived cholesterol from the intestines, which leads to an increase in the production of this compound in the liver and, consequently, to a reduction in its concentration in the blood. If we provide ourselves with 30-40 g of this fiber in the diet every day, we can count on lowering the level of cholesterol in the blood. Green vegetables are rich in pectins, especially spinach and cabbage, green beans, green peas, broad beans, and among root vegetables - carrots, celery, parsley.

Worth knowing

Supplementsinstead of statins?

Cholesterol-lowering dietary supplements contain active substances (or combinations thereof), the effectiveness of which depends on the individual response of the body - in some cases they help, in others they do not. They can be useful when the cholesterol level is only slightly above the acceptable level of 190 mg / dL. What is the most common in these preparations?

  • Red fermented rice contains monacolin K, a natural statin that inhibits the production of cholesterol in the liver.
  • Garlic extract: For people with initial cholesterol levels of 200 mg / dL, consuming garlic containing at least 1000 μg of alliin can lower total cholesterol by 10-12%, while increasing HDL cholesterol by about 10%.
  • Linseed oil is rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids to help produce "good" HDL cholesterol, and vitamin E to help lower LDL levels.
  • Artichoke leaf extract contains cynarin, which inhibits the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver, enhances the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids and accelerates the process of removing triglycerides and cholesterol with bile.
  • Rosehip - its fruits are rich in vitamin C. It has been proven that 1 g of vitamin C daily increases the concentration of the beneficial HDL cholesterol by 8%.
  • Dandelion root contains, among others plant sterols (so-called phytosterols), lowering the concentration of LDL cholesterol.
  • Psyllium seed is rich in soluble pectin, which binds bile with the cholesterol it contains and helps to excrete it from the body.
  • Evening primrose oil - lowers cholesterol thanks to the high content of fatty acids: linoleic acid (LA), gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), and phytosterols.

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