Do you take statin medications to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol? Eating grapefruit while taking these drugs can increase the risk of side effects. This warning has led to a lot of questions from people taking this type of medication. Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, Preventive Cardiology Head at Cleveland Clinic’s Heart and Vascular Institute, says it’s a … Read More
Tag: statins
Can Treating Depression Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack?
Could treating depression lower your risk of heart attack or stroke? The results of one study — comparing antidepressants and statins — surprised researchers.
Take Statins? What You Need to Know about Diabetes Risk
Statin medications (statins) are drugs that help lower cholesterol levels in the blood to help prevent coronary heart disease for those at risk or who already have experienced some form of cardiovascular disease. Statins do carry certain risks that need balanced and managed through ongoing physician monitoring. A recent study highlights how important it is to … Read More
New Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Near FDA Approval
Two new drugs to help physicians better manage “bad” cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) have received approval this week from an FDA advisory panel. The FDA typically accepts those recommendations, so the drugs may soon be available for patient use. The new drugs – both injectables – are called alirocumab (brand name, Praluent), which received the panel’s … Read More
Is Heart Disease In Your Genes?
Do you wonder why some smokers develop heart disease, but others don’t? Or how someone who thrives on burgers and fries can live to be 90, when a vegetarian has a heart attack at 40? The answer may be in the genes. And the fact is, we are only beginning to understand how they affect … Read More
Biggest Change for Heart Medicine in a Decade?
People with cardiovascular disease can expect two new, potentially life-changing medications to become available in 2015. These “spectacular therapeutic breakthroughs are nearing FDA approval and both have enormous potential,” wrote Steven Nissen, MD, Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, in a recent post on MedPage Today. There have not been changes this big in … Read More
Statins Plus Exercise Best for Your Heart Health
When it comes to cardiovascular health, following a healthy lifestyle is always important. That’s true even if you take cholesterol-lowering statins. Experts stress that statins, exercise and a heart-healthy diet are great partners in your efforts to improve and maintain heart health. Cardiologist Michael Rocco, MD, Medical Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Stress Testing in Preventive Cardiology at … Read More
Why Statins May Offer Treatment Benefits for Your Aortic Aneurysm
If you have coronary artery disease or peripheral vascular disease, using statins is clearly a benefit to your health. In those cases, statins lower your risk of future cardiac events. However, when it comes to treating aortic aneurysm disease, the benefits of statin use are not clearly proven. Some evidence does support statin use for … Read More
Inflammation Education to Help Your Heart (Video)
“Inflammation.” You may have heard that word a lot lately and maybe you’ve wondered, “Do I have inflammation?” Actually, you’ve seen inflammation when you’ve injured yourself or gotten an infection. Inflammation as a normal bodily response can cause swelling, pain, fever or warmth. We now believe inflammation plays a role in chronic diseases. It’s a … Read More
Encouraging News If You Are Statin Intolerant
Updates showing positive results in ongoing trials of a new type of cholesterol-lowering drug generated a lot of interest at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) recent annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Still in their trial phase, the PCSK9 inhibitor-type drugs show encouraging promise as a new treatment option for statin-intolerant patients. Answer to statin … Read More