What you may need to know about statins..... (2)

Another serious problem that could be associated with statins is myopathy - which essentially causes muscle weakness or even rhabdomyolysis ie breakdown of muscle, with release into the blood - not a place where muscle should be! If heart muscle is affected, this could be potentially life threatening, as proper heart muscle function is integral to adequate pumping of blood round the body via the circulatory system. In the publication Clinical Cardiology, a research paper by a group of researchers at the Department of Medicine, Michigan State University involving twenty eight patients found significantly greater cardiac muscle function in the control group when compared to the group on statins. A small study, but definitely important enough to be repeated in a larger experimental group to shed more light on this worrisome outcome, to confirm or disprove these findings.

Statins also lower Co - enzyme Q10 levels by blocking synthesis of cholesterol, as the pathway for CoQ10 production is the same as that for cholesterol production. CoQ10 is an important heart nutrient, necessary for optimal cardiac function. To make matters worse, this nutrient and other essential fat soluble anti oxidants are transported by cholesterol, thus reduction in cholesterol leads to reduced transport of these essential substances. The result of all these problems could be heart failure as heart muscle becomes compromised. So the very thing that statins were supposed to avoid ends up being exactly the unwelcome end point arrived at - heart malfunction and heart failure, leading to death.

I will continue on this topic in my next posting, but I repeat what I said in an earlier post, risk benefit analysis of statins needs to be seriously explored, and credible, rational treatments decisions arrived at.

To your abundant excellent health,

Dr Ike
Holistic Health Coach and Functional Health Expert.

Sources:

‘New Study Shows Using Statins Actually Worsens Your Heart Function’ published online 22.06.11, articles.mercola.com

‘Statin therapy decreases myocardial function as evaluated via strain imaging.’ Clin Cardiol. 2009 Dec;32(12):684-9.

‘Statin therapy decreases myocardial (heart) function’ published online, greenmedinfo.com

Health Sciences Institute: Are you risking heart failure by taking statins? Accessed online 31/07/2011