Heart Attack Support Group
Heart attack is a serious, sudden heart condition usually characterized by varying degrees of chest pain or discomfort, weakness, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and arrhythmias, sometimes causing loss of consciousness. It occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted, causing death and scarring of the local heart tissue.
Hi All,
My brother died of a heart attack at 44, i'm 42 now.
They gave me 10mg of crestor as preventative measure, aren't there side effects to taking a medication daily for the next 40 years without a real issue in my own body?
I'm not keen on the idea however neither am I keen on dying young like my bro.
Thanks guys.
My brother died of a heart attack at 44, i'm 42 now.
They gave me 10mg of crestor as preventative measure, aren't there side effects to taking a medication daily for the next 40 years without a real issue in my own body?
I'm not keen on the idea however neither am I keen on dying young like my bro.
Thanks guys.
I take Crestor 20mg daily and I have taken it for almost 3 years. So far I've had no side effects that I know of, and my cholesterol numbers are great. I also eat a heart healthy diet, so I know the meds are not the only thing keeping my numbers good, but it helps.
My MD does labs once a year to check my liver since statin meds can cause problems. I also take a CoQ10 supplement. Statin drugs can strip muscles of something I can't remember the name of (unfortunately I don't take a memory pill:) and CoQ10 is supposed to help replace it, although it's like many other supplements in that there are no conclusive studies that I know of. Taking the CoQ10 supplement was my decision, not something my cardio recommended, but he is okay with me taking it. So far my labs are great, liver is doing fine.
You don't say in your post if your MD has prescribed labs, but I suggest you have them done. At the very least it will give you peace of mind.
Pam
Absolutely there is a risk. I think the key question is, are the benefits farrrrr greater than the risks? In 2005 the FDA provided up-to-date information about the risk of serious muscle damage - called rhabdomyolysis -- in patients taking Crestor as well as the other statin based drugs. This is a well-known, rare side effect of all statins, it says.
Rhabdomyolysis is a condition in which muscle cells break down. This floods the blood with muscle proteins, sometimes leading to fatal kidney failure.
In June 2004, the FDA advised doctors to be careful about how they prescribe Crestor. And in January 2005, Crestor's manufacturer, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, reported that a patient died while taking Crestor.
The FDA says extensive review of the large amount of available data indicates that patients taking recommended doses of Crestor have a similar risk of rhabdomyolysis as patients taking other statin drugs. Other available statins include Lipitor, Pravachol, and Zocor.
Crestor's manufacturer is also reminding doctors that they should consider using lower starting doses of Crestor in some individuals. AstraZeneca today revised the package insert to re-emphasize these recommendations.
I have read that there are 3 groups of "Patients More at Risk".
Data show that certain people may have higher drug levels and therefore be at greater risk for muscle injury due to Crestor. The drug's new label recommends that those at higher risk start with a dose of only 5 mg. The higher-risk groups include:
Asian-Americans:
People taking the immune suppressing drug cyclosporine, such as organ transplant patients.
Patients with severe kidney failure:
Kidney failure of various types has also been reported in patients treated with Crestor, as well as other statins.
However, the FDA says it's difficult to establish the exact association between kidney failure and statins. People who often need statins to lower their cholesterol include patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and heart failure. These same people are already at a higher risk of developing kidney failure.
Therefore, the FDA says it cannot confirm that recommended doses of statins, including Crestor, can cause or worsen kidney failure. Overall, the FDA says the potential benefits of Crestor and other statin drugs when used as recommended outweigh their potential risks.
But seeing as your gene pool suggests cardiac related issues. The low dose of 10 mg sounds prudent. I think more importantly would be to adjust your diet to a heart healthy diet and get some aerobics in to up your HDL levels. Cholesterol in itself isn't bad in fact it is a necessary function of all cells to utilize the cholesterol which is already produced in the liver. You may want to supplement the low dose Crestor with CoQ-10. Many of us here do this. a Heart Attack that leads to an MI is no fun and is life altering. It is good to see your physician being proactive.
Good on ya my friend,
Just Joe
I am keen on taking the crestor, but i'll be honest i'm whipped and my girlfriend is against them, she's generally against most pills due to liver damage, and as someone who's been on antidepressants, i can see her point on the overprescribing going on with pills.
It's a tough decision, i know once i go on i won't go off (can't?).. they are on my coffee table, opened, but the packs still full.
Kind of ironic for a guy who's probably taken 1000+ mdma's in his earlier years but my bro is gone and she's all i got.... i'm god damned torn over this not knowing to take the magic pill or not.
BTW jenkins, i take coQ10 already for tinnitus, with vitamin E, works pretty good actually, also A and Zinc in case anyone else is ringing.
I also suffer tinnitus, how much Vit. E do you take?
I am a bit afraid of it because the increased risk of hemorrhagic brain stroke if you take it too much.
Jesus