I am rarely rendered speechless, but after reading the latest article published in JAMA, yours truly had his tongue tied up. The title of the article is, “Effect of Statin Therapy on Mortality in Patients With Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.” (JAMA online October 9, 2013). The authors of this article hypothesized that statin therapy may decrease the mortality of ICU ventilator-assisted patient.
Before I tell you how the ICU patients who were treated with a statin drug fared, let me tell you I was stunned when I saw the title of the article. My first thought was, “Who in their right mind would think that critically ill patients would get better by poisoning a crucial enzyme?” Statin drugs poison the crucial enzyme HMG CoA Reductase.
Cholesterol is an essential substance that has antibacterial properties associated with it. Keep in mind that we cannot live without adequate amounts of cholesterol. There are studies that show people with lower cholesterol levels have increased mortality rates. Knowing this, who would want to lower a critically ill patient’s cholesterol level? Asking questions like these makes me think I must be in Alice in Wonderland where down is up and up is down.
The JAMA study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 26 intensive care units in France. They enrolled 1002 unlucky patients who were receiving ventilator-assisted breathing therapy for more than two days. These patients were also suffering from pneumonia. The patients were randomized to receive Zocor (60mg) or placebo.
The authors of the article reported, “In adults with suspected {pneumonia}, …Zocor therapy, compared with placebo, did not improve day-28 survival.”
You might read that and say, “Well, the statin drug did not work.” That is true, but reading the fine print paints a different picture. You see, more people died in the statin group—21.2% versus the placebo group—15.2%. That means there was a 45% increased death rate in the treated group! You can bet if the statin group had a 45% reduction in deaths that “45%” number would have been in the headline of the article. Another way to look at the numbers is that if 16 ventilator assisted patients in the ICU are treated with a statin drug, one will die from it. Needless to say, these are not good numbers.
I think if they offer you a statin drug while you are fighting for your life, it is best to refuse it. Also, if anyone offers you a statin drug, whether you are fighting for your life or not, I think it is best to just say no.
More information about statin drugs can be found in my book, Drugs That Don’t Work and Natural Therapies That Do.
Why couldn’t they concentrate on serum D levels? Oh, I remember. They are not paid to shill for vitamin D.
Fluoride is almost as bad as the statins.
Look it up on the EPA web site. It is toxic, and a carcinigan.
The night before a routine check up with the doctor, I got a phone message from the doctor saying my cholesterol was a “little” high, according to the recent blood work I had done, and the doctor was going to prescribe Simvastatin for me. When I went in for the appointment the nurse checked my record and mentioned the statin prescription, and I told the nurse I would not take any statins, and went into a short rant referring to some of the reading I had done on the subject. The doctor was nearby and came into the room, and I repeated my statement that I wasn’t taking any statins. The doctor said they wouldn’t push me on it, so I said that was good we agreed. Then the doctor said “they”, I assume to mean doctors in general, think statins are so good they believe statins should be in water. It took a few seconds for it to hit me, then I realized what was meant by that statement. These doctors think the public water supplies should have statins added to them, mass medication, like fluoride. I almost fell out of the chair. These people are insane!
Sam,
Statins in the water supply? That is beyond ridiculous. My prediction: In the near future, maybe 5 years or so, the headlines will read, “Oops, we were wrong. Statins have not performed as we thought they would.” How can I make that prediction? Just look at the biochemical pathway where statins poison the HMG CoA-Reductase enzyme. Then look downstream. There is just no way poisoning that enzyme can be a good thing.
DrB
I made the mistake of listening to my doctor and staying on 40mg of Lipitor for many years (I also tried several other cholesterol lowering drugs). I now have irreversible peripheral neuropathy in my feet, which, thankfully, slowed or stopped its progression after I educated myself and told my doctor that I had stopped it on my own and would never take it again. Of course, I cannot prove that it was the statin that cause my condition, but it is the only variable I know of – several blood tests have shown that I’m not diabetic. My PCP and a neurologist I saw both claimed to have never heard of the research which has linked statins to neuropathy. I find especially incredible that a neurologist had never heard of this link. I’m amazed that these drugs continue to be pushed despite the growing evidence of their destructiveness. I guess it shows the power of Big Pharma!
Craig, Thank you for your post. I agree with you. However, there is a huge percentage of the population that is not able to “not accept” what their drs tell them. They do not research – they are not capable of doing so and arguing with your Primary Care Physician is not in most peoples capability sets. I am dealing with a family member right now who is one of these who is incapable of doing what you ask.
Jenny, best wishes to you and for your recovery. I love Charlevoix the Beautiful.
Dr. B. Keep up the good work. My family member was just put on Iodine and his wife (who is recovering from breast cancer treatment) bought your book on Iodine. So there is hope.
This just points out, once again, how warped & stuck the medical community is when it comes to statins and drugs in general. With little to no proof that statins actually prevent a cardiac event, hospitals, doctors and Big Pharma continue their search to expand statin usage. They will do nothing to change this paradigm. Why should they! They prosper big time, at our expense!
People must learn to be their own medical advocate! Take the time to question and research issues involving health. Don’t automatically accept more pills to block key functions in the body. There may be some short term benefit from certain drugs. But most, once these drugs are started, never stop. In fact, more drugs are usually added to control the side effects created by the drugs! My dad died in 2001, he was on 9 different drugs. Image how toxic this must have been to his system! “Who in their right mind would think”, this is good course of treatment?
Thank you for another bit of ammunition. I wrote to you a while back during a time I wasn’t feeling well. You said it was up to me Every time I saw my cardiologist, I asked about getting off the statin drug. He finally relented and agreed to two weeks. Of course, my cholesterol levels jumped up to pre-statin levels. I still don’t understand that part, but it didn’t scare me as much, even with a heart stent. I didn’t start back on the drug after the two weeks.
My doctors weren’t happy with me. The cardiologist that put the stent in told me to go ahead and stay off of it for a while, but the stent could clog up. A few weeks later I found out I have ovarian cancer stage 3C. Even my oncologist said I could still take the statin drug but I told him I didn’t want a drug blocking my cells during that critical time of healing. He left to me and my cardiologist and family doctor. I explained my reasons and they both finally agreed with me!
I’m in the middle of a long chemo treatment after my surgery. I figure any surgery requiring a four day hospital stay is probably not as bad as being put on a ventilator, but still ranks up there on the serious side. I have been happy knowing my body probably has a better chance with recovery without the statin.
Thank you for giving one more thing to show my doctors.
Jenny in Charlevoix the Beautiful
I would like to thank Dr. Brownstein for all of his life-saving medical advice. The fact that he is willing to help people by challenging the medical establishment is an answer to our prayers. I feel certain he saved my life after my aortic valve replacement. Because of his articles and newsletters, I learned some natural therapies that have helped me recover. Thank you so much.
I love your blog on Statin therapy for the crittticaly ill Patients.Statins stink and I just got off of them.