Study: Statin Drugs Accelerate Hardening of Arteries

New Study Finds Statin Drugs Accelerate Hardening of Arteries (Live In The Now, Aug 27, 2012):

The pharmaceutical industry claims the cardiovascular benefits of statins outweigh their many troubling side effects, as well as their risk of causing type 2 diabetes. A new study that shows these drugs accelerate arterial calcification appears to refute this claim, leaving Big Pharma without a leg to stand on.

Findings are a blow to Big Pharma’s claims.

In the research published in Diabetes Care, scientists examining patients with type 2 diabetes and severe atherosclerosis discovered that coronary artery calcification was decidedly greater in more frequent statin users compared to those who were less frequent users. Even more disturbing, in a subgroup of participants who initially did not take statins, advancement of coronary artery calcification (CAC) and aortic artery calcification (AAC) was decidedly greater in those who used statins frequently.

Drug companies’ arguments for using statins despite the problems associated with them are based on the premise that these drugs improve the health of the cardiovascular system, the part of the body most essential for life. This argument has been dealt a blow by the findings showing accelerated CAC and AAC, both which largely contribute to cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular deaths.

Just how big a risk factor is arterial calcification?

Interestingly, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association underscores the health risk posed by calcium in the walls of the arteries. In analyzing what risk factors are most predictive of an impending heart attack, researchers found coronary calcium was six times more accurate in predicting this event than the risk factor of a family history of coronary heart disease. Dr. Arthur Agatston, cardiologist and author of the South Beach diet books, commented on the study, saying coronary calcium is the best predictor of who will have a heart attack and who will not.

Doctor relates horror stories of adverse effects of statins.

The latest discovery of the arterial calcification effect of statins is likely the tip of a massive iceberg of adverse effects. These drugs have been linked to more than a staggering 300 side effects, including weakening of the heart muscle.

In an interview with Dissident Voice, Barbara H. Roberts, M.D., Director of the Women’s Cardiac Center at the Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island relates that she regularly sees patients in her practice with serious adverse effects to statins. These include debilitating pain, transient amnesia and cognitive decline, along with fatigue, muscle weakness and neuropathy. One of her patients stated a fire in her home when she forgot the stove was on. Another was a college professor whose memory loss was so great he had to quit teaching. Others had to be wheelchair bound.

Discover a natural alternative to statins.

As you may have read, “bad” cholesterol may not be quite the villain that we have been led to believe. What about low levels of “good” or HDL cholesterol? Dr. Roberts prescribes two to three tablespoons of olive oil to her patients with this problem, and in every case, the HDL improves. She laments that the Mediterranean diet gets little media attention, although studies show it reduces cardiovascular disease and deaths.

Sources:

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/statin-drugs-found-accelerate-arterial-calcification

http://dissidentvoice.org/2012/08/do-you-really-need-that-statin-this-expert-says-no/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/23/health/heart-attack-prediction/index.html

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