Serious enough question lads,would any of you know what would be the outcome of riding with high blood pressure and high cholesterol ,like would a fella drop dead when the going gets tough ::)i had loads of tests done over the last few weeks because my blood tests came back with not great results.
mind you i did stop taking the lipertor for high cholesterol months ago so i reckon that could have something to do with it.but there were killing me and i really dont want to go back taking them tablets.should i be asking the doctor to put me on a lighter dose any of you guys go through the same thing, i dont want to be going out cycling thinking i'm gonna drop dead at the first big hill 
anyway lads any advice greatly appreciated.
cheers
jags.
Dude, statins can cause anything from muscle damage to diabetes to heart failure (yeah, studies are coming out showing they actually cause it. Your body uses cholesterol to repair itself. You need to find out why your body is putting so much cholesterol in your blood stream. There are only a very few people who actually need these drugs to control this problem, which in them is caused by genetics. You're probably not one of them.) to dementia.
You need to look these things up.
The Mercola site is good. You can get what you really need by reading the articles then changing your diet and getting anything else from your local health food store.
[Language edited to avoid potentially libellous statement -- Dan]I'm about 70lbs lighter than I was at my peak thanks to following his advice. I don't even follow it completely! You should definitely look into his advice on nutrition.
Just type in lipitor, or statins or "New Study Shows Using Statins Actually Worsens Your Heart Function" into his search engine for more info.
"Are You Taking a Statin for No Reason?
For certain individuals who are at very high risk of dying from a heart attack, statin drugs may be useful -- but this is only true if you have strong heart attack risk factors (NOT if you simply have "high" cholesterol levels). It is important to note that it is also not necessary for you to remain on the drug for the rest of your life. Once your cholesterol ratios have been optimized by a course of treatment on statins, you can safely go off them if you have changed your diet..So, odds are very high -- greater than 100 to 1 -- that if you're taking a statin, you don't really need it.
The only two subgroups that might benefit are:
Those at very high risk of heart attack (based NOT on your cholesterol levels but on your heart attack risk factors)
Those born with a genetic defect called familial hypercholesterolemia, as this makes you resistant to traditional measures of normalizing cholesterol
If you are not in one of those two categories, statin drugs are an unnecessary health risk you're better off avoiding -- and you definitely want to avoid the trap of taking them to lower your cholesterol when your cholesterol is actually well within a healthy range.
I have seen a number of people with total cholesterol levels over 250 who were actually at low risk for heart disease due to their elevated HDL levels. Conversely, I have seen many people with cholesterol levels under 200 who had a very high risk of heart disease, based on their low HDL.
Further, if you take statin drugs unnecessarily, there's a good chance your cholesterol levels will become too low, which is dangerous since your body NEEDS cholesterol -- it is important in the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help you to digest fat. Cholesterol also helps your brain form memories and is vital to your neurological function.
There is also strong evidence that having too little cholesterol INCREASES your risk for cancer, memory loss, Parkinson's disease, hormonal imbalances, stroke, depression, suicide, and violent behavior – so keeping your cholesterol high enough is important."
"How Statins May Actually Cause Heart Failure
The Clinical Cardiology study did not address causes, but it's widely known that statins lower your CoQ10 levels by blocking the pathway involved in cholesterol production -- the same pathway by which Q10 is produced. Statins also reduce the blood cholesterol that transports CoQ10 and other fat-soluble antioxidants.
The loss of CoQ10 leads to loss of cell energy and increased free radicals which, in turn, can further damage your mitochondrial DNA, effectively setting into motion an evil circle of increasing free radicals and mitochondrial damage.
There are no official warnings in the U.S. regarding CoQ10 depletion from taking statin drugs, and many physicians fail to inform you about this problem as well. Labeling in Canada, however, clearly warns of CoQ10 depletion and even notes that this nutrient deficiency "could lead to impaired cardiac function in patients with borderline congestive heart failure."
As your body gets more and more depleted of CoQ10, you may suffer from fatigue, muscle weakness and soreness, and eventually heart failure, so it is imperative if you take statin drugs that you take CoQ10 or, if you are over the age of 40, the reduced version called ubiquinol."
"
The majority of people who use statin cholesterol-lowering drugs are doing so because they believe lowering their cholesterol will prevent heart attacks and strokes. How many of these people do you think would continue to take them if they knew these very same drugs have been linked to decreased heart muscle function and increased risk of stroke?
No one in their right mind?
The truth is, the usefulness of statin drugs has received tough scrutiny in recent months, and that scrutiny is well deserved. Take this study in Clinical Cardiology. It found that heart muscle function was "significantly better" in the control group than in those taking statin drugs! The researchers concluded:
"Statin therapy is associated with decreased myocardial [heart muscle] function."
What's often the end result when your heart muscle function is weakened or decreased? Heart failure!
"
