Re: Statins and side effects......

The introduction to the petition to the FDA:
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/DailyNews/July2002/StatinInduced8.htm


July 8, 2002

STATIN-INDUCED CARDIOMYOPATHY

INTRODUCTION TO THE CITIZEN'S PETITION ON STATINS

By Peter H. Langsjoen, MD

The medical profession has, after more than 30 years of excellent
propaganda, successfully created the wholly iatrogenic - "pseudo-disease"
dubbed "hypercholesterolemia" and the associated malady "cholesterol
neurosis". After decades of dismal failure to cure this "disease" of numbers
with low fat diets and a host of cholesterol lowering drugs, the medical
profession stumbled upon the magic bullet, the cure for this dreaded
artificial disease - statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors). First released
on the US market in 1987, statins have rapidly grown into one of the most
widely prescribed class of drugs in history. Statins do three things:

1. They block the body's ability to make cholesterol, thus lowering
the blood level of cholesterol, thereby curing cholesterol neurosis. Doctors
and patients equally neurotic have immediate gratification. The "evil" high
cholesterol has been dramatically lowered and the future is bright and
promising. So far...so good.

2. Unrelated to their cholesterol lowering, statins have been found to
have anti-inflammatory, plaque-stabilizing properties which have a slight
benefit in coronary heart disease.

3. Statins kill people - lots of people - and they wound many, many
more. All patients taking statins become depleted in Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10),
eventually - those patients who start with a relatively low CoQ10 levels
(the elderly and patients with heart failure) begin to manifest
signs/symptoms of CoQ10 deficiency relatively rapidly - in 6 to 12 months.
Younger, healthier people who's only "illness" is the non-illness
"hypercholesterolemia" can tolerate statins for several years before getting
into trouble with fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness (usually with normal
muscle enzyme CPK tests) and most ominously - heart failure.

In my practice of 17 years in Tyler, Texas, I have seen a frightening
increase in heart failure secondary to statin usage, "statin
cardiomyopathy". Over the past five years, statins have become more potent,
are being prescribed in higher doses, and are being used with reckless
abandon in the elderly and in patients with "normal" cholesterol levels. We
are in the midst of a CHF epidemic in the US with a dramatic increase over
the past decade. Are we causing this epidemic through our zealous use of
statins? In large part I think the answer is yes. We are now in a position
to witness the unfolding of the greatest medical tragedy of all time - never
before in history has the medical establishment knowingly (Merck & Co., Inc.
has two 1990 patents combining CoQ10 with statins to prevent CoQ10 depletion
and attendant side effects) created a life threatening nutrient deficiency
in millions of otherwise healthy people, only to then sit back with
arrogance and horrific irresponsibility and watch to see what happens - as I
see two to three new statin cardiomyopathies per week in my practice, I
cannot help but view my once great profession with a mixture of sorrow and
contempt.

Statin-induced CoQ10 depletion is the topic of a recent petition to
the FDA requesting that this drug/nutrient interaction be identified in a
black box warning as part of statin package insert information. A
comprehensive review of animal and human trials addressing this issue has
been submitted to the FDA as a supporting document. We, of course, do not
expect any response from the FDA, but 10 years from now when the full extent
of statin toxicity becomes painfully evident, at least we can, in good
conscience, know that we tried and who knows, sometimes small sparks may
spread in dry grass.



See Also:

Cholesterol Drugs And The Depletion Of Coenzyme Q10: A Review Of Human
And Animal Data.
By Peter H. Langsjoen, MD

Citizen Petition: Needed - A Change In The Labeling Of All Statin
Drugs





<trumpetfish@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1139060733.346836.181230@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I guess it's getting old by now with the millions of people taking
statins and 90% complaining of side effects and the number one
complaint is muscle problems. Now, I may be missing something here,
but if muscles are the problem, is not the heart a major muscle in the
body with intricate muscle fiber controlling the inner working parts
such as valves. I find it strange the number of heart murmurs
surfacing through out the country and a ho-hum attitude by the medical
field. I think there is a definite connection between statins, heart
murmurs, and other related heart problems.



.

Relevant Pages

  • Business Week Cover Story of Jan 28, 2008
    ... Martin Winn's cholesterol level was inching up. ... Such drugs are the best-selling medicines in history, used by more than 13 million Americans and an additional 12 million patients around the world, producing $27.8 billion in sales in 2006. ... Statins certainly performed as they should for Winn, dropping his cholesterol level by 20%. ... Yes, Wright saw, the drugs can be life-saving in patients who already have suffered heart attacks, somewhat reducing the chances of a recurrence that could lead to an early death. ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?
    ... Martin Winn's cholesterol level was inching up. ... Such drugs are the best-selling medicines in history, used by more than 13 million Americans and an additional 12 million patients around the world, producing $27.8 billion in sales in 2006. ... Statins certainly performed as they should for Winn, dropping his cholesterol level by 20%. ... Yes, Wright saw, the drugs can be life-saving in patients who already have suffered heart attacks, somewhat reducing the chances of a recurrence that could lead to an early death. ...
    (misc.health.alternative)
  • Re: Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good? (BusinessWeek cover story)
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  • Update for Primary Healthcare Providers: Recent Statin Trials and Revised National Cholesterol Educa
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