The risk of myocardial infarction increases sharply in autumn and winter. If people with low blood lipids stop taking the medication without permission they may lose cardiovascular protection.

“Some patients with hyperlipidemia disappear after visiting an outpatient clinic without taking medication, and show up in the emergency room the next time they visit.” Autumn and winter are myocardial infarction,stroke During the disease season, Hong Huifeng, an attending physician in the department of cardiology at Shin Kong Hospital in Taiwan, noticed that some patients stopped taking blood-lipid-lowering drugs such as statins (statins for short) because of minor discomfort caused by the drug or were disturbed by misinformation on the Internet, and even their return trip was interrupted. When they return to the hospital for treatment, they often have acute myocardial infarction, which can be life-threatening.

recentlyhealth insurance The drug conditions for hyperlipidemia are gradually being relaxed. Statins are conventional drugs and are commonly used in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. However, drug-related side effects also remain the focus of many patients. The overall safety of this type of medicine is good, but a small number of people may experience muscle pain or increased liver indices after taking it. Taking muscle pain as an example, the probability of such side effects is 3% to 5%.

Research shows that muscle discomfort caused by the drug is uncommon, affecting about 1 in every 100 people, and most symptoms are mild. In addition, less than 1 to 2 people per 100 may experience a temporary increase in liver index, but this does not mean that the liver is seriously damaged. If you experience discomfort after taking the medication, you should proactively inform your doctor, who will evaluate whether treatment needs to be adjusted.

According to medical literature, statins can cause severe “rhabdomyolysis” in rare cases, with an incidence rate of 1 to 3 per 10,000, and a mortality rate of about 0.15 per million. This is very rare and is most often caused by interactions with various medications. Once rhabdomyolysis occurs, there may be obvious muscle pain and weakness, or the urine may turn dark brown, dark brown or even “cola” colored, but these symptoms do not necessarily appear at the same time.

Hong Huifeng reminded that there is no need to refuse to take the medicine or stop taking the medicine yourself because of concerns about rare side effects. Pay attention to physical warning signs in normal times, and if there is any abnormality, inform the doctor as soon as possible, and the doctor will evaluate and handle it.

Hong Huifeng pointed out that if patients take antiviral drugs when infected with COVID-19, it may interfere with some statins; Or while taking certain anti-infectives and cold medicines, it may also interact with some statins. Therefore, if the patient is taking statins and needs to use antiviral drugs and cold medicines, it is recommended to confirm with a doctor or pharmacist. Food items like grapes should also be strictly avoided in the diet.

Additionally, if the patient has muscle pain all over the body due to high fever due to COVID-19 or influenza, it may be difficult to differentiate whether the muscle pain is due to an infection or the medication. If the patient is taking statins and his blood lipids are under stable control, doctors recommend that the patient should actively inform them about his symptoms and current medication, and let the doctor evaluate whether treatment needs to be suspended or adjusted; If it is necessary to suspend, the patient should also confirm the timing of resuming the medication as per the doctor’s advice. Be sure to resume taking the medicine after symptoms are relieved and do not stop taking the medicine. Otherwise, once the cardiovascular protection wears off, you will face greater risks.

When patients experience side effects such as muscle discomfort after taking statins, there are several clinical strategies to improve symptoms, such as adjusting the drug dosage, switching to different statin drugs, or combining with other blood lipid-lowering drugs. Hong Huifeng reminded that especially for high-risk patients with myocardial infarction, multiple blood vessel stenosis, or stent installation, the medicine is life-saving. It is the lesser of two evils. You should not stop the medication due to fear of side effects and put your life at risk of serious illness.

Hong Huifeng emphasized that the damage caused to blood vessels by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, commonly known as bad cholesterol) accumulates over time, just as waste continues to accumulate on the blood vessel walls. The higher the concentration of bad cholesterol and the longer it lasts, the more plaques will accumulate in the blood vessels, increasing the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, etc. In particular, patients who have already had a myocardial infarction should actively control bad cholesterol to avoid continued damage to the blood vessels and reduce the risk of a second attack.

According to the latest health insurance payment standards, for people with multiple vascular lesions or multiple stent placements, the bad cholesterol level should be strictly less than 55 mg/dL. Doctors also urge the public not to believe unconfirmed opinions and rumors and to stop taking blood-lipid-lowering drugs without permission. They should consult a doctor or refer to the Chinese clinical treatment guidelines published by the Heart Association to establish the correct concept of safety. “Vaccines for influenza, COVID-19, etc., should also be administered fully,” so that cardiovascular health is not further damaged.