Posted on 04/06/2020 7:12:59 AM PDT by Brookhaven
Your body needs LDL cholesterol for:
Immunity: Your body needs cholesterol to fight infections. That’s because blood lipids, including cholesterol, play a key role in the body’s defense system by binding and inactivating microbes and their toxins. So low cholesterol levels can make you more susceptible to infections.
Numerous studies have shown this, including a 1997 study at the University of Pittsburg’s Center for Pharmacology where researchers found that those with low cholesterol had fewer white blood cells—suggesting a less efficient immune system. 1
1 Iribarren C, et al. Cohort study of serum total cholesterol and in-hospital incidence of infectious diseases. Epidemiol Infect. 1998;121(2):335–347.
(Excerpt) Read more at drsinatra.com ...
Given the current pandemic, shouldn't we be pointing out that using statins to lower your LDL is also lowering your ability to fight off infections?
I have to wonder how many patients with Covid-19 are being given statins to prevent a "possible" heart attack some 20 years down the road, while fighting for their lives against an infection.
So now you can add statins to ace inhibitors as a risk factor for covid?
It seems like they are suggesting that if you’re not healthy as a horse, the reaper is no longer a slow train coming. heh
I don’t take either but I can see why people need to un-teather from all this ‘news’
“If you stop statins, it’s a double whammy,” Asselbergs tells WebMD. “Statin withdrawal leads to a rapid and significant increase in CRP, independent of the parallel LDL increase.
https://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20060315/statin-withdrawal-hard-on-heart
I absolutely believe that.
Doctors have been bullied into overprescribing these drugs via threats of not adhering to protocols, etc.
Then another thing is, the statin isn’t stopped when mental status declines, instead it’s more likely, “Oh, you must have had a mini stroke, let’s get your cholesterol lower.”
I wouldn’t take one for a million dollars.
I agree, statins are of questionable value. But my doctor loves to prescribe it, I get them free from Humana Medicare Advantage plan, but take only 2 pills per week instead of the prescribed 7 per week.
I am a great believer in aerobic exercise. If you exercise, your heart becomes stronger, your resting pulse is lower, mine is 61 right now, and it is nearly impossible to get a heart attack. Only thing I avoid is excessive amounts of red meat. Just came back from my 2 mile aerobic fast walk since Gym is closed due to virus. Lighting 80 candles in couple of weeks.
From your link:
“Four years into the study those on Pravachol had: a 16% drop in CRP....But when the participants on pravastatin stopped their medication, both CRP and LDL “bad” cholesterol shot up to pretreatment levels. [Dozens of studies have now shown that CRP, like cholesterol, is an important, independent predictor of heart attack and stroke risk, he says.]”
It would be interesting to know if a 16% drop in CRP actually means anything significant. And if it IS significant, over what time frame? 10 years, versus a month or two where a viral attack might be much more risky?
Given the evidence that cholesterol is not tied to death rates for older people, I’m not sure I’d worry. But then, I think statins are a bad idea for the large majority of people on them.
Cholesterol is also a waxy like substance that coats the blood arteries and veins. Too low of a cholesterol level and they tend to hemorrhage or leak.
This happened to a friend of mine and he had a brain bleed that caused a stroke from his Cholesterol being too low.
LDL & CRP are indicators of something bad that might happen down the road—heart disease.
But, a high LDL level will help you fight off an infection NOW.
A quick rise in LDL will not suddenly cause a person to drop over dead in a matter of days. According to the theory, it takes decades of high LDL levels to develop heart disease. It doesn’t happen overnight. I don’t see that as a whammy, much less a double-whammy. In fact, it sounds more like fear mongering by the medical community.
I, on the other hand am 65 years old, 5'4", 115 lbs and run 6 miles every other day. My cholesterol is 200. I do take a statin (Zocor) or it would be even higher. My Dr insists I stay on it. :-(
You probably have the same thing I do, genetically high LDL cholesterol. I can’t take statins. Without statins mine hovers around 200-220. Nothing brings mine below 200. The good thing is my triglycerides are low and my HDL is almost 70.
More men than women take statins to lower their LDL.
More men than women contract and die of the corona virus.
Coincidence? Maybe, but it may also be that more men are walking around with compromised immune systems due to their statin use, and the pandemic is highlight the fact.
Nice carbon footprint, old timing man.
Elevated CRP is actually much worse than elevated LDL per recent studies. It’s the inflammation that causes atherosclerosis/ plaque to build up on arterial walls.
If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself, chased fewer women, drank less alcohol, ummm on second thought nope, it was all good! Hahahaha.
Sounds familiar. March 11 my total cholesterol was 199 (with statins), triglycerides were 92 and HDL was 94. It’s frustrating b/c I have genetically high cholesterol even though I do everything I am “supposed” to do. I also have high blood sugar. Ugh
Statins continue to get a bad rap.
WHEN statins were new and in clinical trials the differences in outcomes between the control and placebo groups was so dramatic they shortened the trials because they concluded keeping folks on a placebo was incompatible with the benefits they were seeing in the test group on statins.
I have been on 40mg of Lipitor for years with no noticeable side effects.
One of the little known benefits of a statin is its ability to strengthen the plaque that forms in the arteries when you have high cholesterol. Statins lower cholesterol and prevent plaque build up. What plaque you have is strengthened from sheering/splintering which causes clotting.
I know several physicians who take the maximum statin dose allowed. They ALL fear strokes more than heart attacks. Strokes are almost always caused by clots that accumulate where plaque has splintered.
Finally. I have a soon to be 94 year old mother in law. She was successfully treated with cholesterol and BP medicine for 15 years. No issues. Sharp as can be mentally. My sister in law talked her into cutting each medicine 50% because “statins can cause dementia(!)”. She is 90 at this point with NO signs of dementia. Anyway, at 91 she has a minor stroke. When she talked to her physician he was perplexed. No problems for 15 years and then a stroke. He reviewed her medicines and asked if she was taking them. She said she was, but only half of what he had prescribed. He asked WHY she cut her dosage. Because “My daughter read on the internet that these drugs could cause dementia.” Long story short. She started taking medicine at full dosages and nearly 3 years later no issues and NO dementia.
I agree with the LDL, but looks like CRP increases fairly quickly
The level of C-reactive protein increased on the second day after withdrawal of statin therapy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15334028
My takeaway: Before stopping check with my cardiologist because it could cause more harm than good by stopping
And what does CRP do?
Do people suddenly drop over dead, because their CRP levels rose? Or, does it’s presence to contribute to a bad outcome that takes years to develop?
The question at hand isn’t if statins are good/bad OVER THE LONG HAUL.
The question is: does lowering your LDL levels put you at greater risk of contracting (and dying) from the corona virus?
Given that LDL is part of your immune system, I would say so.
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-c-reactive-protein-crp-testing#1
CRP is produces in reaction to inflammation.
The fact that CRP levels are predictive of heart attacks, doesn't mean they are the cause. It's just as likely that CRP levels rise in reaction to the cause of heat attacks (inflammation).
In which case, suppressing CRP won't lower heat attacks. No more than suppressing policemen will lower crime.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.