Watchdog warns of risks of mixing popular statin with heart drugs

Monday, November 26, 2012 by: D Holt
Tags: statins, heart drugs, toxicity

(NaturalNews) Patients taking one of the most frequently taken statin drugs may be told that their dosages will have to be cut following a report that recognizes they may have side effects worse than the diseases they treat. Statins are normally taken to ward off heart disease. However, when mixed with other medicines that treat high blood pressure, they have been shown to trigger some potentially fatal side effects including muscle problems, lung disorders and kidney failure.

Simvastatin is the most frequently prescribed statin in the UK and the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority) is concerned that mixing Simvastatin with Amlodipine or Diltiazem, which are used to treat high blood pressure, may cause muscle breakdown leading to kidney failure as these symptoms occur more regularly when the drugs were taken at the same time.

The calls from the MHRA may lead to doctors decreasing dosages to alleviate the side effects or switch patients to alternative statin drugs. Drugs companies that make statins claim that they are a wonder drug that can prevent heart disease and should be taken by everyone over the age of 50; however, recent research suggests that 40 percent of patients receive no benefits from taking them. The side effects of statins are well documented and yet, so called experts maintain that the health benefits outweigh the risks. Judy O'Sullivan, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said "This is not based on any new revelations about unknown side effects of Simvastatin."

"We know that side effects with this drug are dose related - the higher the dose, the greater the risk of developing muscle pain. Because calcium channel blockers slow down the rate at which Simvastatin is broken down, the drug levels in the blood stream can be higher."

Healthy lifestyle is the only safe way of preventing heart disease

The comments of Ms. O'Sullivan confirm that health professionals recognize that there are serious side effects from taking statins and yet, they continue to prescribe them like they are handing out sweets as a one-drug-fits-all remedy. This, of course, makes huge profits for the drugs companies who see a death rate associated with their drugs as a statistical tool to see the viability of making sales.

There is one guaranteed way to reduce so called "bad cholesterol" without the side effects and that is to eat a natural diet and exercise. A diet of junk food will have detrimental health effects right from the first meal and the continued consumption of fatty and sugary, processed foods will increase levels of ill health the longer that it is consumed, and that is without taking into account the dangerous additives that are added to processed foods.

Sources:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk
http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/DrugSafetyUpdate/CON140667

About the author:
D Holt has written over 200 articles in the field of alternative health and is currently involved in research in the UK into the mechanisms involved in healing due to meditation, hypnosis and spiritual healers and techniques. Previous work has included investigations into effects of meditation on addiction, the effects of sulfites on the digestive system and the use of tartrazine and other additives in the restaurant industry. new blog is now available at http://tinyurl.com/sacredmeditation or follow on twitter @sacredmeditate