Cardiologist on the Over-Prescribing of Statins for Heart Disease

Taken from JRE #1979 w/Dr. Aseem Malhotra:

[austin]

I had a cardiologist prescribe me 2 different heart medicines for the rest of my life after 2 visits and about 5 minutes of combined FaceTime. The front desk admin told me I had cardiomyopathy. Long story short, went to a new doctor, got an MRI and I was completely healthy. Always get a second opinion.

Edit: Thanks for all the replies, lots of good information. To clarify, I didn’t mean iPhone FaceTime that was a typo lol. I meant I spoke with the doctor face to face for a combined 5 minutes. Both doctors did ECGs etc. The second doctor did not bad mouth the first doctor nor did they reference their diagnoses, simply ran their own and double checked with the MRI just to see if there was anything at all. Originally went in because of palpitations most likely caused from stress and shortness of breath I used to get from smoking weed (I tried to tell the first doctor I only become short of breath when smoking weed). It’s been over 6 months and I’m running 3 miles a day healthy as can be it seems. No palpitations.

[vitamingreen]

I'm a 46-year-old diabetic. When the lock lockdowns started, I couldn't get hold of the blood pressure medication and cholesterol medication for 2 months. During that time, I started feeling much better and haven't taken it since. Silver linings and all😂

[Spicy_Guava]

My bad cholesterol was “borderline” high my doctor prescribed me statin. I refused to take them and modified my lifestyle, my next visit he saw some improvement in the bloodwork he thought the medicine was working, when I told him I wasn’t taken it he gave me a lecture on how this medicine is helping everyone live longer. I changed doctors after that.

[mannycapicotto]

My doctor told me when I turned 60 to get on statins because men over 60 have a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes. I refused and ten years later i'm fine.

[BethOvertonCPMmidwife]

My husband refused statins after a heart attack. He focused on changing his lifestyle drastically and today after 15 years, is still healthier than he was when younger. We are thankful we found a doctor who was supportive and knew all this to work with us. Most doctors are just pawns of the pharmaceutical industry. It's time doctors get back to practice honest ethical and researched based medicine.

[pattywoods]

I was on statins for about a week, and I felt like a thousand horses had kicked me all over my body. I felt crippled with muscle and joint pain so bad that I didn't want to live anymore. Thank you for bringing this out into the open. 💞

[mrtoadslove]

I am an elderly woman with low cholesterol and doctors still try to put me on Statins. I remember when I was younger that an old wise doctor told me to never forget that every medication we take is also a poison. It may help one thing but is usually harming you in ways you don’t know.

[Chipshot]

Just had this discussion with my cardiologist. I’ve tried several statins and I ache all over. I increased my exercise and cut most sugars out of my diet. Thanks so much for your courage to stand up to big pharma! This gives me the strength to just say NO!

[marquesn]

I’m a 15 year RN and have always worked in cardiology - and this doc is spot on.

[maisiemoo]

My mom was prescribed statins years ago when she was in her early 70’s. She was a healthy weight and active. After a week or two of taking them, she became crippled resulting in her having to use a walking stick and really struggling to walk. It wasn’t long before she connected the statins to her condition and immediately took herself off them. Soon after, it was almost immediate, her mobility fully recovered and she lived until she was 92.

[goddesstc]

Gotta love Dr. Malhotra! Tell the truth even if your career is at stake. I wish more Drs would have taken that attitude the last few years!

[youngypaul]

The world needs more Doctors like this

[albatross]

My nephew was in generally good health at 50YO and was prescribed a statin prophylactically. After several months on it he developed muscular problems which continued to degrade. He was told he likely had ALS a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease. My brother was distressed, as you might imagine, that his son was dying. After about 6 months with various doctors he went to visit a rheumatologist, who discovered that he was allergic to the statin. He has been 2 years recovering his muscular development and has been told that he will never be 100%. This is from a drug he was prescribed by didn't REALLY need in the first place.

[rmguest]

This reminds me of an exchange with my cardiologist recently. I had been on Keto for a number of months and my regular clinician said I could quit taking my BP and statin meds since all my blood work looked really good and it probably wasn't necessary to be on them any more. When I went to the cardiologist, for another unrelated issue, he asked why I had stopped taking the meds and I told him that I had made changes to my diet in order to rid myself of having to deal with the heart meds (and other meds like Glipizide) because of their side effects. He said something like, "well that's all well and good, but you really need to be on a statin, regardless". (I should have told him at that point that I had a heart attack while on a statin.) Before the visit, I had done some research about statins, cholesterol etc, and asked him if a slightly elevated LDL level was necessarily a bad thing. He then cited some study (what's name I can't recall at the moment) that had really nothing to do with the efficacy of statins at all and he made it sound like that was definitive proof and reason that I should be back on the meds...period. End of discussion. I was a bit disappointed at that point, relented and let him write the script. I decided that I would go back on them temporarily and do a bit more research before the follow-up. Meanwhile, the new BP med he prescribed was making me dizzy, and I decided to stop taking it after 2 days. I also found a study online concerning the effects of statins on reducing CoQ10 which I learned was an essential enzyme for heart function. I printed it out and brought it with me for the follow up visit. The first thing he asked was if I was taking the meds he scripted. I said that the beta blocker was making me dizzy, so I ceased taking it and although I started back on the statin, had some serious reservations about continuing them and showed him the printout of the study I had found. He took a short glance at it, handed it back to me, dismissing it as something akin to media hype, restated his old talking points from our last visit and then re-emphasized that I needed to be back on a statin and beta blocker. I then restated that the damn beta blocker was making me dizzy. He snapped back, "Then just take half a tablet every day!" To finish it off I stated again my reservations about the statins. At this point, he took on a defensive tone, got rather "huffy", and said, "well if you don't want to take the meds, I'll just put in your record that you refused the meds...I'm a cardiologist and I take a statin!" In my own mind at that point, I decided that this guy was never going to be empathetic to the needs and concerns of his patient and let him write the scripts again. Only this time, I drove past the pharmacy, went home and threw the beta blocker and the statin in the trash and haven't looked back.

[NatsGreaterReset]

This interview needs to be watched by the entire world.

[cecilegibbs]

I stopped taking both prescriptions, bp and statin. I feel 100% better. I’m 77+ yrs old. I figure if eating well, hydrating properly, and no bad life habits don’t work then so be it. Living well is better than living long as far as i’m concerned.

[HoofHearted]

Dr. Malhotra is one of the best in the World. I've listened to him w/ Dr John Campbell and Neal Oliver and other medical truth seekers. These people pay a price to uphold integrity of Medical Oath.Thx Joe

[cathylaver]

So good we still have people like Aseem who put everything at risk for the good of the people, so much admiration for you Aseem . Thank You 🙏

[dme]

The world needs more people like this. Stand up and tell the truth, regardless.

[madelinedelvalle]

Hubby had a heart attack in 2006. They quickly gave him Plavix and statin. After 11 months I noticed he was very forgetful. I told his doctor and he said that is not listed as a side effect for that medicine. I month later hubby started to complain about pain in his leg muscles. Years later studies came out that stains do effect your memory. Be very careful what medicines you take.