Should 80 year olds take statins?

Adults age 75 and older may not need statins.

Many older adults have high cholesterol. Their doctors usually prescribe statins to prevent heart disease. But for older people, there is no clear evidence that high cholesterol leads to heart disease or death.

Should over 80s take statins?

The 2018 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines offer recommendations for statin therapy in people over 75 years old.

When Should statins be stopped in elderly?

Statin therapy seems to provide no benefit to patients ages > 75 years without ASCVD or in patients ages ≥ 85 years without ASCVD, regardless of type 2 diabetes status.

Are statins good for the elderly?

Statin drugs have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young and middle-aged adults. With older adults (those 75 and over), the benefits are less clear. But a recent study published in the European Heart Journal suggests that there is in fact a benefit to statin use in this older population.

What are side effects of statins in the elderly?

However, statins can cause side effects in older adults including gait disturbances, which can lead to falls; increased blood glucose levels and incidence of diabetes mellitus; development of cataracts; liver toxicity; and muscle complications such as rhabdomyolysis, which is a potentially life-threatening condition.

Mayo Clinic Minute: Should older people take statins?

Should someone over 75 take statins?

Researchers have found evidence that older adults experience similar benefits as younger adults from cholesterol-lowering therapies. A total of 244,090 patients participated in the trials, 21,492 of whom were 75 years of age or older.

What can I take instead of statins to lower cholesterol?

Why should over 70s not take statins?

And he says older people at risk of heart attack who take the medication should consider staying on it. "Getting off the statins essentially puts people at risk for heart attacks because they lose the protection of what lowering the cholesterol gives or provides at that age," says Dr.

What is a good cholesterol level for an 80 year old woman?

Normal - Less than 150 mg/dL. Borderline - 150-199 mg/dL. High - 200-499 mg/dL.

Do statins shorten your life?

“The study showed that taking statins for 6 years reduced death from cardiovascular disease by 24 percent, and overall mortality by 23 percent.”

Why do doctors push statins?

Statins are the go-to treatment option for lowering cholesterol levels and risk of cardiovascular complications, like heart attack and stroke. Statins work by slowing down cholesterol production and enabling the liver to remove low-density lipoproteins (LDL), or “bad cholesterol,” from the bloodstream.

Is there a natural alternative to statins?

Natural alternatives to statins include soy products like tofu and edamame. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 35 million Americans have high LDL, also known as bad cholesterol. This greatly increases your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Are statins worth the risk?

Research has shown that statins are highly effective in reducing the risk of fatal heart attack and stroke.

Is there a link between statins and dementia?

Our results showed that strong statins, such as rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, and simvastatin, were associated with a larger reduction of dementia, whereas standard statins, such as pravastatin, fluvastatin, and lovastatin, were not associated with a reduction of dementia.

Is atorvastatin safe for the elderly?

Atorvastatin has been widely investigated among the older subjects and has the greatest magnitude of favorable effects on clinical outcomes of CHD. The pharmacokinetic properties of atorvastatin allow it to be used every other day, a factor which may decrease adverse events and be especially important in the elderly.

Do statins clear the arteries of plaque?

Statins help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol, in the blood. They draw cholesterol out of plaque and stabilize plaque, Blaha says.

What should an 80 year old cholesterol be?

Less than 70mg/dL is best for those with a very high risk for heart disease. Less than 100 mg/dL is best for those with heart disease. 100 – 129 mg/dL is near ideal. 130 – 159 mg/dL is borderline high.

Do most seniors have high cholesterol?

Total cholesterol levels steadily increase with age from 20 to 65, following which they decrease slightly in men and tend to plateau in women. Elevated cholesterol levels are not uncommon in the elderly (61% of women aged between 65 and 74 have total cholesterol levels over 6.2 mmol/L [240 mg/dL]).

What are the warning signs of high cholesterol?

What is the safest statin for elderly?

Atorvastatin or fluvastatin are usually recommended because there is no need to adjust the dose according to the glomerular filtration rate [28]. In patients without diagnosed atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, it is indicated a moderate dose of statin, such as atorvastatin 20 mg daily [28].

Does statin use cause memory decline in the elderly?

A new study reports that statins do not cause additional memory loss in older adults. Experts note that some people avoid statins because of concerns over dementia, muscle pain, and diabetes risk.

Can statins cause confusion in the elderly?

Neurological side effects

The FDA warns on statin labels that some people have developed memory loss or confusion while taking statins.

What is better than a statin?

Statins are a group of medications that lower a specific type of cholesterol level in your blood. The best alternatives to statins are PCSK9 inhibitors, fibric acid derivatives or fibrates, bile acid sequestrants, selective absorption inhibitors, nicotinic acid or niacin, and omega-3 fatty acids and fatty-acid esters.

What foods have natural statins?

Are statins the best choice for me?

You should think carefully about taking a statin at the same time as starting those lifestyle changes. Statins are generally recommended for people who have CVD (such as people with angina or who have had a heart attack). But ultimately, the choice is yours.