New Guidelines Set for Statin Medications
![New Guidelines Set for Statin Medications](https://blog.invitehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/joshua-coleman-623117-unsplash-e1556041753770.jpg)
Photo by Joshua Coleman on Unsplash
Heart disease sufferers – read closely! New guidelines have recently been released that may put another 13 million people on prescription statin medications to treat heart disease. The traditional guidelines that were used in the past to diagnose heart conditions have been “widened”, meaning that if you weren’t previously prescribed cholesterol medication during your last doctor visit, the story may change at your next appointment.
According to the data, which was based on heart disease risk factors and heart disease rates among 3,773 people in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 – 2010, 56 million Americans between the ages of 40 years old and 75 years old would be eligible for statins. With the previous guidelines, only 43.2 million people were given this drug. The new guidelines now aim to add another 13 million people to the roster of those on statin medications.
It’s interesting to note that most of these newly-prescribed patients, even those who do not have a history of heart disease, would be given the medication as “precautionary standard” to reduce the risk a potential heart attack.
This new development leads to the ongoing debate on preventative measures and taking medications that you may not necessarily need. Are you doing more harm for your body if you take drugs to “prevent” something that may be unlikely to even happen at all? Speak with your doctor before starting or changing your current prescription drug regimen.
Under the new guidelines, if a person’s risk of developing heart disease in the next 10 years is 7.5% or higher, they might benefit from taking a statin. It is still too soon to confirm if prescribing these extra 13 million people statin medications will actually end up saving the predicted half-million lives. The amount of people who will be prescribed statins to prevent heart disease is being tracked right now.
Statin Drugs Deplete Nutrients – CoQ10
You need for specific nutrients increase if you are current taking statin drugs, according to Jerry Hickey, R. Ph. Prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs can cause potentially serious nutrient depletions. In the case of statin drugs, be aware that Coenzyme Q10 may become depleted. Ubiquinol is the most technologically advanced form of Coenzyme Q10. It is all-natural and exactly the same as the CoQ10 that your body creates naturally when you are young and healthy. CoQ10 is the spark plug that allows every cell in the body make and utilize energy from the calories consumed through the diet. Taking Ubiquinol can improve metabolism and overall efficiency, turning back the clock of an aging body. When you are young and healthy, you make the same version of Coenzyme Q10, known as Ubiquinol. But with age, or in the case of a serious health condition, this ability gradually reduces. Our Ubiquinol is made in the United States from a natural fermentation process.
Are you currently taking cholesterol medication or statin medications? Do you agree with this method of taking statins to prevent heart conditions, even if someone’s risk is low? Let us know your thoughts!
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/19/health/time-cholesterol-statins/index.html?hpt=he_c2