Myopathy known to occur with statins

"While the statins are effective in providing protection from coronary and cardiovascular events, they are known to cause myopathy (usually dose-related) and, rarely, rhabdomyolysis. A clinical diagnosis of myopathy is made when there is muscle pain or weakness accompanied by a creatine kinase (CK) level more than ten times the upper limit of normal. Rhabdomyolysis is a severe form of myopathy with muscle breakdown leading to myoglobinuria, which may result in renal failure and death.

The Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) has received eight recent reports (including two fatalities) of rhabdomyolysis occurring in patients taking between 20mg and 80mg of a statin daily."
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Gary Moller comments:
This medsafe NZ report raises a number of interesting issues:

Officially myopathy and rhabdomyolysis are "rare" with rates of from 0.03% to 1%. Such rates depend on not just the Dr detecting the condition; but reporting it in such a way that it is recorded in offical databases. In m y experience, this hardly ever happens and only in the most serious cases leading to severe disability or death - assuming the disability or death were directly attributed to the culprit medication.

Co-morbidities and other medications complicate the detective work. So, for example; while the patient might have died from heart failure, the medication might have damaged the heart muscle. Or, as a result of the severe muscle weakness caused by the statin, the patient might have slipped, broken a hip and subsequently died from the complications of a blood clot. The official cause of death would not be the statin.

If these medicines have such nasty side effects, it begs the question: "Why do these things continue to be prescribed?" Especially when there are such effective non-medical alternatives that have absolutely no side effects other than looking and feeling great.

"Because they reduce heart disease risk and because the side effects are very rare", you might say.

"Rare?" At a recent presentation to more than 50 "Oldies" I was cornered afterwards by two women who had been prescribed statins. Both had suffered severe muscular pain and weakness and one had visible severe muscle wasting of her thighs and was having trouble walking. I was horrified at the damage.

Assuming that about 10 of the total audience were on statins, is this occurence "RARE"?

The role of vitamin E on the anti-atherosclerotic effect of fish oil in diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rabbits

The role of vitamin E on the anti-atherosclerotic effect of fish oil in diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rabbits was studied in male New Zealand white rabbits.
..... These results suggest that vitamin E and/or fish oil attenuate atherosclerosis in high cholesterol-fed rabbits; vitamin E and fish oil potentiated the effect of each other. Furthermore, without sufficient vitamin E supplementation, rabbits treated with high cholesterol plus fish oil will show an elevation of plasma creatine kinase activity." _______________________________________________

Gary Moller comments:
Just how much research on male NZ rabbits applies to you is open to debate. My partner keeps telling me I'm like a rabbit, so I am taking it seriously!"

This New Zealand research adds to the growing body of evidence that diet and supplementation strategies have important effects on health risk, including cardiovascular disease.

As a matter of interest, Creatine Kinase (CK) is an enzyme that operates within cellular energy pathways. Elevated levels of CK in the blood may be an indication of muscle damage, such as may be caused during intense exercise, over-heating or heart attack (muscle is rich in CK so damage to muscles releases CK into the blood). Marathon runners have been known to be hospitalised in the days following a marathon because of extemely elevated CK levels, triggering fears that the runner is undergoing a heart attack! Of course this is not the case, but this is still very unsettling. But this is still confirmation of the damage a hard run does to the body and the need for additional anti-oxidant supplementation.

This study indicates that vitamin E and fish oil may be beneficial if you are undertaking intense exercise, bruising muscles, exercising in the heat, or if you have high cholesterol levels. Vitamin E is a powerful anti oxidant that helps the body neutralise the flood of free radicals that are produced from tissue breakdown before they can do damage to healthy, previously unaffected tissues. Fish oil has many health qualities, including anti-inflammatory qualities and stabilisation of heart electrical activity.

Rancid cholesterol and other fats in the blood stream act as free radicals. Vitamin E again reduces damage to the arterial walls due to its powerful anti-oxidant qualities.

Vitamin E with fish oil are at their most powerful in terms of protection when combined. The vitamin E also serves to prevent the fish oil from oxidising while it is circulating in the body. Fish oil can be purchased with added vitamin E, or if the cheaper fish oil only product is purchased, it is recommended that natural vitamin E be added to the diet. The same can be said for additional vitamin C. Read this article here.

Purchase quality natural vitamin E only. I have serious reservations about the efficacy of cheaper synthetic forms of vitamin E.

Quality fish oil and natural vitamin E are available from www.myotec.co.nz