More Bad News for Statins
Statins function to inhibit the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase. This is the rate-limiting enzyme that converts HMG-CoA into precursors of cholesterol. Thus, by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, the synthesis of cholesterol is inhibited, which is supposed to save us from dying of heart disease. But if you look at the CDC’s website about heart disease, there is no mention that there has been a substantial reduction in heart disease and deaths from heart attacks due to the use of statins. Each year since 1999, about 610,000 Americans have died from heart disease (1). This begs the question: is there any real benefit from taking statins?
JUPITER trial misrepresentation
The JUPITER trial (2) was publicized in the media as providing conclusive evidence that statins prevent heart disease. The study was so lauded that we were subjected to the notion that we should all be taking statins for preventive purposes.
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A look at the study suggests that such a claim is without merit. A total of 8901 men and women took a placebo while another 8901 subjects took 20 mgs of rosuvastatin per day. The trial was stopped at a median follow-up time of 1.9 years and a maximum of 5 years. The primary end point was the combination of nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, arterial revascularization, hospitalization for unstable angina, or confirmed death from cardiovascular disease.
Of the 8901 subjects in each group, there were 142 primary endpoint events in the statin group and 251 in the placebo group. In other words, 1.6% of the statin subjects and 2.8% in the placebo subjects had an event – this is known as absolute risk. This irrelevant 1.2% difference between the two groups supports the reason why deaths from heart attacks has not changed since at least 1999.
Side effects of statins
Most patients taking statins will develop symptoms of some kind, such as muscle pain, which can be of varying degrees. Patients are led to believe that the side effects are worth the “great” protection they are receiving from statins. However, from the above we can see that there is no significant cardiovascular protection and the side effects can be much greater than just a little muscle pain. Additional potential side effects of statins include fatigue, erectile dysfunction, memory loss, cognitive defects, ALS-like symptoms, aggression, irritability, polyneuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, muscle cramps and muscle weakness (3).
Researchers are now suggesting that statins may actually cause atherosclerosis and heart disease. It is time to seriously consider the benefits of statin therapy.
Statins as a cause of heart disease?
Those of us who are suspicious of statins and other medications that disrupt normal metabolism would not be surprised to discover that statins may be promoters of heart disease. But can you imagine the anger many will have when they realize that they have suffered unnecessary side effects while taking a medication that may actually cause the disease they were trying to treat orprevent? Unless you have a library subscription that includes Expert Reviews in Clinical Pharmacology, you will only have access to the abstract, which contains enough information to make one think (4):
“In contrast to the current belief that cholesterol reduction with statins decreases atherosclerosis, we present a perspective that statins may be causative in coronary artery calcification and can function as mitochondrial toxins that impair muscle function in the heart and blood vessels through the depletion of coenzyme Q and ‘heme A’, and thereby ATP generation… Thus, the epidemic of heart failure and atherosclerosis that plagues the modern world may paradoxically be aggravated by the pervasive use of statin drugs. We propose that current statin treatment guidelines be critically reevaluated.”
The authors also explain that statins inhibit the synthesis of vitamin K2, which is known to protect against arterial calcification.
What should we do?
It is not likely that patients will be taken off statins after the publication of this one article. However, there is a greater likelihood of this happening if patients normalize their blood glucose, triglycerides, and LDL and HDL cholesterol by avoiding sugar, flour, and trans fats. In the meantime, it seems reasonable for statin takers to also take coenzyme Q10 and vitamin K2.
References
- http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
- Ridker PM, et al. Rosuvastatin to prevent vascular events in men and women with elevated C-reactive protein. New Eng J Med. 2008;359:2195-207.
- Seaman DR. Statins and cardiovascular disease: not as protective as we’re led to believe. Dynamic Chiro. 2012; Feb 26, Vol 30, Issue 05.
- Okuyama H et al. Statins stimulate atherosclerosis and heart failure: pharmacological mechanisms. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2015;8(2):189-99.
