Not a statin but is a cholesterol-lowering medication.
Many of the existing statin-based arguments against lipid-lowering therapy will apply.
I take a statin myself, as does my 100 YO mother (for the last decade and a half or more).
Anyone who is on maintenance drugs know the pricing scheme is confusing and unfair. There are more riddles to this complex maze that there should be.
What is still unknown is as to why the drugs work so well—there is something about an anti-inflammation benefit others have suggested for the reason.
Repatha cut by 20 percent the combined risk of having either a heart attack, stroke or a heart-related death. That happened to nearly 6 percent of people on Repatha versus more than 7 percent on the dummy drug.
So, placebo had a more widespread effect. ...and how was the cut in risk measured if not by number of people having an effect?
“!
For every 200 people treated with Repatha for roughly two years, three fewer people would suffer a heart attack, stroke or heart-related death. But looked at by themselves, deaths were not reduced by the drug.
“That’s a big benefit,” said Dr. Marc Sabatine, the study leader, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. For millions of people with heart disease or high risk for it like those in the study, “it’s worth it to be on this medicine.”
But Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, preventive medicine chief at Northwestern University and an American Heart Association spokesman, called the results modest and “not quite what we hoped or expected.”
Maybe it’s statistically “significant” but looks like not very, over the placebo, in real life.
Diet and lifestyle changes could have made HUGE improvements. Cholesterol is essential for our brains. We don’t need to remove it in order to lower heart problem risks.
Have had a problem with LDL cholesterol since menopause. Have tried and failed one statin after the other, all for the same reason:muscle pain that reduces me to a motionless mass of pain. Have been taking flax seed oil (omega 3) since and my HDL level is in the 90s, very protective.
Primary doc keeps trying to tempt me with the latest statin kid on the block but the muscle pain problem always comes back, even with CoQ 10.
I was taking statins; developed an allergic reaction - my tongue swelled up. I had to stop taking it immediately.
However, many years later, I discovered another product which is not toxic to me: Citrus Bergamot. It’s made from the oranges grown in Southern Italy. I found the product at The Vitamin Shoppe.
A 60 day supply is only $38.00 - and I had a 146 point decrease in my LDL, and a small increase in my HDL, which had always been steadily over 60, after my doctor and I agreed to a 120 day test, and at the end of each 30 days, a new blood test to see what was happening.
My doctor was stunned at the results. I have both types of cholesterol - food, and genetically inherited.
It’s an easy test to do - one capsule daily for 120 days - followed by blood checks every 30 days.
This is nothing like a statin. This is actually an antibody that targets the enzyme that degrades the protein that binds LDL to the liver cells. That results in more of this binding protein which in turn binds more LDL so the liver can take it out of circulation. It’s an interesting idea, and is especially promising for people who have a genetic predilection for high LDL.
Cholesterol levels and heart attacks is a BS scam to begin with and the side effects of statins is far worse.
“Repatha cut by 20 percent the combined risk of having either a heart attack, stroke or a heart-related death. That happened to nearly 6 percent of people on Repatha versus more than 7 percent on the dummy drug.”
In other words, statitical noise elevated to medical benefit by snakeoil salesmen.
Well they can keep it. I looked it up, it hits 8 areas that always trigger drug side effects. Always look up meds for side effects. I have 5 Gastro issues, you think I want to add more to that? NO WAY!
http://www.rxlist.com/repatha-side-effects-drug-center.htm
What they need to work on is how to raise HDL especially for men, as that is the big problem. Hubby is lucky to hit 41, I hit 85. Which negates a lot of the other 2.
Small benefit demonstrated with small sample size. Statistical noise.
Looks like the typical shell game.
7% on the dummy drug and 6% on the new drug
What a joke
It’s an injection? No thank you.
Several years ago my doctor wanted me on statins. At the time I was walking maybe 3 miles a day. After I started taking those drugs I hard leg and muscle cramps to the point it was hard for me to go for a walk. I tried every brand out there at the time and still had the same problems. I did more research on cholesterol and statins and found that there is absolutely no link between cholesterol and heart problems or strokes. As we age our cholesterol goes up, but it needed for us to live.
The real cause of coronary heart disease is inflammation over time.
I would have to look at the test results fine print to see exactly what the numbers are. I read some of the test reports statin’s and found when they claimed a 50% reduction in heart attacks, for example, all that meant was this, if you had a 97% of an attack, then with the drugs you had a 96% chance and they would manipulate the statistics to make you believe something else. I have no doubt that the numbers in this testing are the same kind. Don't forget the drug company paid for this study, how much credibility does it really have?