Q: I am a 70-year-old male. I am in good health but I do have high cholesterol. As I am a dairy farmer, I like my milk and cheese. My doctor wants me to take Lipitor but I do not want to take it due to bad side-effects. Is there something else that is easier to take? I don’t think there have been any early deaths from heart attacks in my family.
A: At your age, taking statin drugs may not be as helpful as for younger patients. A recent study has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine Journal that analyzed data from 2,867 older adults in the lipid-lowering trial component of a heart attack trial.
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Researchers J.H. Han and associates found no significant benefit in all-cause mortality or cardiovascular outcomes after Pravastatin, a statin drug, was given to older adults with moderately high blood lipids and hypertension.
They also found that there was a small and not statistically significant tendency to an increased all-cause mortality with Pravastatin among adults 75 years and older.
The journal’s editor, Dr Gregory Curfman of Harvard Medical School, reported that the combination of multiple risks in older adults “should be considered before prescribing or continuing statins for patients in this age category,” be-cause they may be associated with an increased mortality rate.
There is a safer alternative drug known as Ezetrimibe or Ezetrol, which inhibits the absorption of dietary cholesterol. In other words, the fats will go straight through you.
However, as long as you do not eat too much cheese, you will not be running to the bathroom.
Those people in a lower age group who have higher than desirable cholesterol levels, particularly those with a family history of heart attacks and strokes, are more likely to continue to benefit from prescribed statin anti-cholesterol drugs such as Lipitor or Crestor.
Measles outbreak
In Europe and the rest of the world, the current measles outbreak is continuing to expand. At the time of writing, this involves at least 32 countries.
Romania has the highest number of cases with 6,500 reported so far, followed by Italy with about 2,500.
Most of the new cases have been tracked back to the Romanian strain. Ninety percent of those affected were not previously vaccinated, while another six percent had only had one dose of the vaccine.
Although no new cases have been reported in Canada as I write this, there is always a slight risk when travelling on airlines. Make sure your children are vaccinated.
