Heart Attack Prevention: Statins and Exercise
FEBRUARY 10, 2015
If
you have high cholesterol, then your doctor has surely talked to you
about eating right and exercising. You may also be on a statin drug like
Lipitor® (atorvastatin), Zocor® (simvastatin) or Crestor®
(rosuvastatin).
So what to make of research suggesting that statins may interfere with our ability to get the maximum benefit from heart-healthy exercise? “Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, and more and more patients are asking about this study,” says preventive medicine specialist Roxanne B. Sukol, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Executive Health Program.
Michael Rocco, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, notes that “muscle pain and weakness are a real issue for up to 8 to 10 percent of patients taking statins, and may limit their ability to continue on statins or to exercise. But it’s important to put the new research into perspective.”
So what to make of research suggesting that statins may interfere with our ability to get the maximum benefit from heart-healthy exercise? “Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, and more and more patients are asking about this study,” says preventive medicine specialist Roxanne B. Sukol, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Executive Health Program.
Michael Rocco, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, notes that “muscle pain and weakness are a real issue for up to 8 to 10 percent of patients taking statins, and may limit their ability to continue on statins or to exercise. But it’s important to put the new research into perspective.”
Heart Attack Prevention: Statins and Exercise
FEBRUARY 10, 2015
If
you have high cholesterol, then your doctor has surely talked to you
about eating right and exercising. You may also be on a statin drug like
Lipitor® (atorvastatin), Zocor® (simvastatin) or Crestor®
(rosuvastatin).
So what to make of research suggesting that statins may interfere with our ability to get the maximum benefit from heart-healthy exercise? “Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, and more and more patients are asking about this study,” says preventive medicine specialist Roxanne B. Sukol, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Executive Health Program.
Michael Rocco, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, notes that “muscle pain and weakness are a real issue for up to 8 to 10 percent of patients taking statins, and may limit their ability to continue on statins or to exercise. But it’s important to put the new research into perspective.”
So what to make of research suggesting that statins may interfere with our ability to get the maximum benefit from heart-healthy exercise? “Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, and more and more patients are asking about this study,” says preventive medicine specialist Roxanne B. Sukol, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Executive Health Program.
Michael Rocco, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, notes that “muscle pain and weakness are a real issue for up to 8 to 10 percent of patients taking statins, and may limit their ability to continue on statins or to exercise. But it’s important to put the new research into perspective.”
A study published in the May 2013 Journal of the American
College of Cardiology looked at the problem of muscle
symptoms and statins in detail
University of Missouri researchers followed 37 overweight, sedentary participants with two of five risk factors for metabolic syndrome (a condition that increases the risk for diabetes and adverse cardiovascular events).
None of the people in the study had ever taken statins. All began a three-month exercise training program, working up to 45 minutes of treadmill walking or jogging for five days a week. Half received simvastatin, and half did not.
LDL (bad) cholesterol levels fell 40 percent in the statin group and increased slightly in the non-statin group. Yet cardiovascular fitness increased 1.5 percent in the statin group vs. more than 10 percent in the non-statin group. “Muscle biopsies showed that mitochondrial enzyme levels (expected to rise in the cell during exercise) rose 13 percent in the non-statin group but fell 4.5 percent in the statin group despite the increase in exercise,” notes Dr. Sukol.
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