my trade off between statins and heart attack #2

[Guest guest]

Hi,

All—

I had

my heart attack early Christmas morning while doing cardio exercise with 80 and

90% blockages. I got then got two stents implanted on my 65th

birthday. I take high doses of statins and am slowly coming to the

conclusion that the risks of statin meds -- for me -- are less than the risks

of having a second heart attack. From all I have read, I am uncomfortable

taking statins, but yet have no side effects. I also believe that, while

the root cause of atherosclerosis is not high cholesterol, small-particle,

oxidized LDLs do play a role in plaque formation in response to arterial injury

and chronic inflammation. By the way, I had taken statins for about 5

years, quit them for a year, let my total cholesterol run up to 300, and then had

a heart attack.

Do

you doctors and well-read lay people agree with that trade-off between statins

and a second heart attack?

Here

is some detail: I take, as prescribed, 80 mg daily of Vytorin, Slo

Niacin, aspirin, and standard post heart-attack meds to manage blood pressure

and heart rate. From my own research, I also take 200 mg of CoQ10

(Ubiquinol), Resveratrol, L-Lysine, K2+D3 dots, a New Chapter plant-based 40+

multivitamin, and cod liver oil from Green Pastures.

Maybe

diet and exercise helps me avoid having side effects. While I ate fairly

well before, practiced exercise, and was “only” 188 on a 5’10

medium build frame, I had room for improvement. Now, 95% of what I eat is

pasture-fed, organic, locally grown, unpasteurized food prepared at home.

In summary, I follow Weston A. Price Foundation’s view on eating whole

and traditional foods.. Since last spring, about 15 pounds have melted

off me without my having to feel deprived. I now exercise about 6-7 hours

weekly, mainly walking, yoga, swimming, and modern dance. Particularly

since swimming 2 hours weekly this summer, I feel a great sense of energy for

the rest of the day.

Once

again, without experiencing neuropathy or myopathy (at least that I know of),

am I doing the right thing by taking the risks of statins in order to prevent a

second, possibly fatal, heart attack?

Jack

in Reston