Statins

Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk

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Patients who took statins and were physically fit had as much as a 70% reduction in the risk of dying during the follow-up period as compared with the least physically fit patients who were taking statins, according to Peter Kokkinos, PhD, of George Washington University in Washington, and colleagues.

Physical fitness also had an independent effect on mortality risk among patients who were not taking statins, reducing the likelihood of death during follow-up by as much as 47%, they reported online in The Lancet.

via Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk.

I really need to get the gym more often.

Any Advantages Or Is Livalo Just One More Statin? | DrPullen.com – Medical and Health Blog

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Livalo has a number of things going against it and at this point I cannot think of a single reason I would prescribe it unless someone can show it to have unique benefits as compared to more established statins.

Any Advantages Or Is Livalo Just One More Statin? | DrPullen.com – Medical and Health Blog.

Red Yeast Rice: An Introduction NCCAM

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Some red yeast rice products contain substantial amounts of monacolin K, which is chemically identical to the active ingredient in the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin. These products may lower blood cholesterol levels and can cause the same types of side effects and drug interactions as lovastatin.

Other red yeast rice products contain little or no monacolin K. It is not known whether these products have any effect on blood cholesterol levels.

Some red yeast rice products contain a contaminant called citrinin, which can cause kidney failure.  In a 2011 analysis of red yeast rice products sold as dietary supplements, 4 of 11 products were found to contain this contaminant.

via Red Yeast Rice: An Introduction | NCCAM.

Personally, I’m sticking with a statin.

FDA Adds Diabetes Warning to Statin Labels

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The diabetes warning has been rumored as a possibility since the findings from the JUPITER trial of rosuvastatin revealed an unexpected 27% increase in new onset diabetes among patients randomized to the statin.That finding was especially perplexing because JUPITER was a study of statins in patients who had no history of cardiovascular disease, the so-called healthy patient trial. Moreover, based on the JUPITER results, the FDA approved rosuvastatin for primary prevention.The FDA said hyperglycemia was also observed among patients treated with 40-mg atorvastatin in a substudy of PROVE-IT TIMI 22, and a meta-analysis of data from 13 statin trials “reported that statin therapy was associated with a 9% increased risk for incident diabetes.”

via Medical News:FDA Adds Diabetes Warning to Statin Label – in Cardiovascular, Dyslipidemia from MedPage Today.