Statins
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:20 pm
First, I want to be clear that I'm not looking for medical advice, just opinions to weigh... You won't be responsible for anything I may do going forward...
Okay, so 8 years ago, my wife and I, for unclear reasons now, took advantage of the local hospitals offer for a $49 heart scan. Her arteries were clear as a bell while mine with a slight calcium (i.e. plaque) buildup in the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, though minor, placed me in the 81st percentile for my age group at the time (46). That means it was worse than 81 percent of those men my age. I've never been overweight, have been somewhat of a fitness buff for nearly all of my adult life, have under-200 total cholesterol and high HDL (good) cholesterol, and eat a relatively healthy diet, so this was kind of displeasing to me! The only recommendation at the time was to have the test done again in 5 years or so.
I kind of forgot about it, but my wife heckled me enough that I finally went back in last Tuesday. They still had the $49 special going 8 years later, so that was nice... This time, I scored a little better percentile-vs-my-age-group-wise (76 percentile). The plaque in my LAD went up noticeably in "Score" from 41.35 8 years ago to 72.04 now. I guess the Score is a way to measure how "bad" it is. I also got to add a new, small plaque measurement in my right coronary artery.
Also, I've recently found that the LAD has the nickname "the widowmaker". That's encouraging!!
Anyway, my doctor's office got hold of the information (I didn't even realize this would happen), and they called me to tell me he wanted to order a prescription for statins and a daily low-dose aspirin. I was kind of in shock and put them off, telling them I'd call them back later. All I can think about are the massive drug cocktails that both my parents and step-parent and other older adults I know take every day, and I've always vowed to do everything I could to not end up like them. I'm concerned about effects on my exercise regimen. I'm concerned about side effects. I'm also concerned about this being a lifelong commitment of as much as 40 years... I guess I'm also concerned about keeling over from a heart attack.... Ugh...
So, I guess I'm just looking for a little encouragement from anyone here that has any direct experience with taking statins. I'm still having a hard time fathoming that this is really me after the lifestyle that I've led.
Okay, so 8 years ago, my wife and I, for unclear reasons now, took advantage of the local hospitals offer for a $49 heart scan. Her arteries were clear as a bell while mine with a slight calcium (i.e. plaque) buildup in the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, though minor, placed me in the 81st percentile for my age group at the time (46). That means it was worse than 81 percent of those men my age. I've never been overweight, have been somewhat of a fitness buff for nearly all of my adult life, have under-200 total cholesterol and high HDL (good) cholesterol, and eat a relatively healthy diet, so this was kind of displeasing to me! The only recommendation at the time was to have the test done again in 5 years or so.
I kind of forgot about it, but my wife heckled me enough that I finally went back in last Tuesday. They still had the $49 special going 8 years later, so that was nice... This time, I scored a little better percentile-vs-my-age-group-wise (76 percentile). The plaque in my LAD went up noticeably in "Score" from 41.35 8 years ago to 72.04 now. I guess the Score is a way to measure how "bad" it is. I also got to add a new, small plaque measurement in my right coronary artery.
Also, I've recently found that the LAD has the nickname "the widowmaker". That's encouraging!!
Anyway, my doctor's office got hold of the information (I didn't even realize this would happen), and they called me to tell me he wanted to order a prescription for statins and a daily low-dose aspirin. I was kind of in shock and put them off, telling them I'd call them back later. All I can think about are the massive drug cocktails that both my parents and step-parent and other older adults I know take every day, and I've always vowed to do everything I could to not end up like them. I'm concerned about effects on my exercise regimen. I'm concerned about side effects. I'm also concerned about this being a lifelong commitment of as much as 40 years... I guess I'm also concerned about keeling over from a heart attack.... Ugh...
So, I guess I'm just looking for a little encouragement from anyone here that has any direct experience with taking statins. I'm still having a hard time fathoming that this is really me after the lifestyle that I've led.