Who Should Take Statins?

How can you calculate your own personal heart disease risk and use it to determine if you should start on a cholesterol-lowering statin drug?

There are three more videos in this series on statins. Stay tuned for:

I previously produced a related series on stents, including:

Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

[solotraveler]

When I was first diagnosed with atherosclerosis and stage II hypertension I was put on statins, within only a few days of taking them I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I had previous knowledge of possible side effects nor am I one of those folks that reads the fact and side-effects sheet printed out at the pharmacy when you pickup your Rx, so I hadn't ever heard of the muscle and skeletal pain associated with taking statins. I quickly learned that it was the drug causing the problems and quit taking them despite my doc's protests. I then, on the advice of a cardiologist while getting a second opinion about getting stints I decided to try a whole food plant-based diet. That was 28 months ago, today no stints, no high blood pressure, perfect cholesterol and labs and 100Rx free. Thats what worked for me and I have my life back and I will never go back to eating any animal products, I feel way to good to ever go back.

[davidg.johnson]

I'm 74 years old, I have been on a statin for 10 years! Last October I went Whole-Food Plant-Based and stopped my statin drug.
My lab work came back with LDL cholesterol lower than when I was on the statin drug and has stayed low with every lab work now!

[lisalovelylpa]

Went vegan May 23 rd … was on statins … doc said on last appointment, I have LOW cholesterol and so no more cholesterol pills, my diabetes number went from 5.9 to 5.2 and my pressure went way down to normal … and lost 50 pounds in less then three months.
The food is killing us ! Eat healthy please !

[-Kerstin]

Started eating plant based at age 21 so hopefully I'll never have to care

[kbkesq]

What about taking statins 2x a week? I take Crestor twice a week and saw a 25% decrease in LDL with corresponding decrease in total cholesterol to 165. Seems getting into such a healthy range must help without the risk of complications. After all, pharma makes people take statins daily despite the 30 hour half life. That means they Can accumulate, which might explain the side effects. I’ve been vegan and found it unsustainable like most people. I eat mostly plants but eat medium fat diet and some chicken and seafood to satisfy my palate when needed. To me the crestor is a happy medium thst keeps me in an extremely healthy range. Best of both worlds? I’m not going to wait to find out and go by massive statistical studies. I’m applying direct experience to myself. Better living through chemistry! Let’s not forget Essylstyn patients used statins.

[sugarbabylove]

My doctor tried to get me on statins, I refused because it seemed extreme given my high cholesterol was mild as well as the fact that the particular statin prescribed conflicts with another medical issue. So decreasing my dietary cholesterol seemed a better option

[DrBrandonBeaber]

Nice video, but I think you should include statistics regarding the benefits of statin drugs. At the beginning of the video, you said you would disclose the "true risks and benefits so people can make a fully informed decision, " but you did not show a single statistic or study suggesting any benefit to statins. Do statins reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease? If so, what is the effect size? How can you weigh risks and benefits without knowing the benefit? You should also include the percentage of people who get myalgias, elevated liver function tests, or outright rhabdomyositis.

[carl]

Although I appreciate the work in this video, it presents the statin decision as if it is yes or no, when in fact you also have the choice of DOSE. A low-dose statin may be the perfect compromise for many people who do the diet changes but still have troubling indicators of future (or present) disease.

[susanhelmus]

Please do a video on when a person HAS changed their diet to a healthy plant-based diet and does exercise yet STILL has high LDL, and calcium score is elevated. What should the person do then when nothing else is working???

[DigitalSteel]

My entire family has been terrified of fat and doing everything they can to eat a plant based, low fat diet. They focus on nutrient dense vegetation and are all incredibly physically active. My dad just had a massive heart attack. Luckily he survived. His father died of a heart attack. My mom's father died of a heart attack. Every single member of my family has been told they need to be on a statin, need to eat even less fat, go even more plant based, and yet still somehow are at massive risk for heart disease and other metabolic issues. CAC scores keep going up. HDL keeps going down. Risk factors keep getting worse. And you know what, they are all lean, strong, and full of energy. You would never know they were at risk for an early death. I am done with this shit. I spent the last 15 years pouring over ever single clinical trial ever produced on a global scale. We were fucking wrong. I am now several years into a red meat heavy diet with sparingly only a few green veggies on the side, and am finally literally the only person in my family officially no longer at risk for heart disease and not on any medication for it. Red meat and saturated fat help prevent heart disease. The sooner we own the facts, the sooner we can stop this pandering to an ever increasing curve of death and disease. We have been fighting and winning with our persuasion... Get people off eating animals, eat less fat, lower your cholesterol... and it has done nothing but ramp up the rate that people are dying of disease. This needs to stop. We need to admit when we are wrong. Ideology does not trump scientific evidence.

[worldcitizenra]

The points made at the 5:20 mark in quoting the USPSTF regarding additional tests make no sense in terms of a person obtaining a better understanding of their condition and risk. The only way that the USPSTF quotes make sense is if a person believes the nonsense that Total Cholesterol and LDL levels are the best and primary indicators of CVD. There is no risk or harm in either an ABI or an hsCRP test. The ABI is not invasive at all. The hsCRP test is no more invasive than any other blood test. The CAC has minimal radiation risk. The only real risk from those three additional tests, along with a couple of others such as LP(a) and ApoB, is that the additional tests will show that the cholesterol levels are BS as being CVD risk indicators and might cause the person to conclude that contributing to pharma company profits by taking statins for the rest of his/her life may not be in their best interest, no matter how much it benefits the pharma companies.

[mystatinfreelife]

Problem is, the ACC/AHA calculator is based on the 2013 Pooled Cohort Equation, which gives values about 80% too high (according to a Johns Hopkins study.) Believe it or not, one available from Merckdoc (a website maintained by a pharmaceutical company) uses the more accurate 2018 Pooled Cohort Equation and gives (at least for people in low, borderline, and moderate risk according to the other calculators) lower numbers, seeming to account for the bias in the ACC/AHA calculator. But the calculator which gives more accurate numbers would take a lot of people out of the statin equation so of course it's not used. (Note this 2018-based calculator actually gives higher values for people truly at high risk.)

[WhiteKitta]

nobody should take them, just eat whole food plant food and keep the animal products out...also don't drink alkohol

[johncrwarner]

That explains why many years ago
statins were handed out to diabetes patients
like candies
but all of a sudden that all stopped

One of the many drugs
I have been given
hailed as a wonder-drug
but turned out to be a dud.

[edusson]

Thank you for the very informational and unbiased video. Played with the simulator and the lifetime risk doesn't get much better (36%) even with optimum numbers of cholesterol and BP. Nor much worse even with a total cholesterol of 300. Not sure what goes into that number...

[fede_ponz]

is the video on how to regenerate coenzyme q10 only for the ones who take statins or for everyone?

[simonford]

This is a very informative video, but leaves me unsure whether I should take statins or not? I had a heart attack in 2018 and was sent home with meds only for hypertension (no stents). I am now looking to switch to a plant based diet as Dr Greger recommends, but it might take a while for me to fully switch.

[adiposerex]

Going through this right now. Doctors are talking statins or surgery for my spouse’s afib. I was appalled. But he won’t eat like I do. Living proof is just not enough.😵‍💫

[JosephNJ]

A calcium score takes about 5 minutes, I don't see the harm, and it's a significant risk factor indicator. How does one rate "radiation risk?"

[Calagnet]

None of the estimators take into account diet (plant based) and exercise. I bike more than 125 miles each week. That doesn't increase my longevity and decrease my chances for a heart attack?