Statin cuts risk of blood clots

[Islander]

Monday, 30 March 2009

A cholesterol-lowering statin drug can significantly cut the risk of potentially fatal blood clots, US research suggests.
In trials rosuvastatin cut the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in healthy people by 43%.
Forms of VTE include deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism, the most common cause of preventable death in hospital patients.
The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.



More than 25,000 people a year die in Britain after developing fatal blood clots.
It is estimated that 52% of hospital patients in the UK are at risk of developing DVT.
However, the MPs' report published in November 2007 said that less than half are made aware of the risks, and only a third will be risk assessed by a healthcare professional.
DVT has also been associated with long-haul air travel, where passengers have limited opportunity to move around.
The latest, long-term study, presented at an American College of Cardiology conference, was based on 17,802 healthy men and women.
Statins have already been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Rosuvastatin, manufactured by AstraZeneca and marketed as Crestor, is just one type of the drug. Other brands were not tested in the current trial.
No bleeding
Lead researcher Dr Paul Ridker, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, said: "The clinical bottom line here is simple, in addition to reducing risks of heart attack and stroke, we now have hard evidence that aggressive statin therapy reduces life-threatening blood clots in the veins."
Dr Ridker added that statin therapy carried no risk of excess bleeding - a side effect associated with alternative blood-thinning treatments such as warfarin.
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, welcomed the study.
He said: "Further clinical trials are now needed to see if patients at high risk of a DVT are protected by statins.
"If they are, the findings could lead to such patients being prescribed statins to protect them in the future."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7971414.stm

[Islander]

The article fails to mention the mechanism by which this statin "cuts the risk" of clots. Does it prevent them? Dissolve them?
There are so many adverse effects of statins as to outweigh any benefits. Further, the only substance I'm aware of that actually dissolves clots is nattokinase—a safe soy extract with no side effects, available OTC.

[mellowsong]

There's actually a few different enzymes that work like nattokinase and all are good. Lumbrokinase is 18 times more potent than nattokinase.
Nattokinase from fermented soy beans
Lumbrokinase from earthworms
Serrapeptase from silk worms...actually a bacterium that lives on the silk worms.

They don't know how the statins cut the risk of clots, they "think" it has some kind of anticoagulant action. Well, keep this in mind, while you take statins, you deplete CoQ10. Your muscles start to waste away, eventually including your heart. Finally the protein from the muscle break down clogs the kidneys and you either die or end up on dialysis due to kidney failure.

WHY DO THEY KEEP TRYING TO FIND NEW USES FOR THESE POISONS?????

[Samurai]

The salespeople are taught to teach fear. The Vytorin rep told me today that more and more "...young people are needing this drug because there is a McDonalds on each corner."
Doctors listen to the salesreps because the gods du Merck say so. "...you see, doctor on pp. 50-68 in the Merck manual."
And, so the patient listens to the doctor.
All the while the 39 cent garlic lies in the bins at the grocery store; with no pens to give away.
No pads to give.
No vacations to Hawaii.
No Starbucks brought.
But the few who get sick...
Really, really sick.... and from the dark depths of their minds find that maybe. Just maybe.
The Doctor, The Merck Manual, and the sales rep are all wrong.

[Islander]

Well said, Samurai.

[Samurai]

gracias.

[naturalhealth]

I think that the nattokinase is wonderful. I see no reason to resort to using statins when there is something that is natural with no side effects that works well at reducing the risk of blood clots and heart disease. The nattokinase breaks down the fibrin, which causes the clots, which in turn leads to heart disease. I'd rather use something more natural when I know how it works as opposed to the statins.

[Aaltrude]

I agree naturalhealth. There is a remedy in nature for a lot of medical conditions. We need to find and use these where possible.

[mellowsong]

I think that the nattokinase is wonderful. I see no reason to resort to using statins when there is something that is natural with no side effects that works well at reducing the risk of blood clots and heart disease. The nattokinase breaks down the fibrin, which causes the clots, which in turn leads to heart disease. I'd rather use something more natural when I know how it works as opposed to the statins.

Amen to that Naturalhealth!!! I have a clotting disorder and was on Coumadin for 9 years. I now use nattokinase along with fish oil and garlic and I have no fear and no side effects.

Not knowing any better, when statins first came out, I was put on them due to very high cholesterol. Within a few months, the docs thought I had MS but there were no plaques on the MRI so they couldn't figure it out. One day my doc read an article in a medical journal about Statins being linked to rhabdomyolosis (breakdown of muscle then the proteins plug the kidneys leading to kidney failure) He called me into his office, told me to to stop them immediately and ran kidney function tests. He said I was probably days away from rhabdo and dialysis. Needless to say, I am not a fan of statins for any condition.