A healthy heart pays you back in dividends It’s never too late (or too early!) to maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels for cardiovascular disease prevention and risk management. One class of medications widely used to manage cardiovascular conditions are statins. It is estimated that over 200 million people around the world take statin drugs for their heart health.
Statin drugs are often considered first line therapy for patients with elevated LDL cholesterol as well as for patients at high risk for heart disease. They work by interrupting your liver’s ability to make cholesterol, which in turn lowers your cholesterol level.
Possible side effects of statin use may include:
- Headache
- Difficulty sleeping
- Flushing of the skin
- Muscle aches, tenderness, or weakness (myalgia)
- Drowsiness Dizziness Nausea or vomiting
- Abdominal cramping or pain
In addition to these side effects, medications in the statin family have been shown to reduce levels of Coenzyme Q10, which is essential for mitochondrial bioenergy transfer. Without Coenzyme Q10 in the serum and muscle tissues, patients may be more susceptible to muscle pain. The other crucial role of Coenzyme Q10 is to serve as an antioxidant and protect cells from oxidative damage.
Patients on statin therapy may benefit from a complete hormone level evaluation as reducing cholesterol may also reduce sex hormone levels as they are derived from cholesterol in the body. Addressing any deficiencies may improve patient outcomes and overall feeling of well-being. Your compounding pharmacist is a valuable resource for drug-induced nutrient depletion and can partner with your prescriber to make recommendations based on your unique therapy regimen. There are many examples of nutrient depletions that can be addressed in order to reduce side effects to make therapies more tolerable for patients.
Your compounding pharmacist is available to address your concerns and work with your provider to produce optimal outcomes.
References:
2. Deichmann R, Lavie C, Andrews S. Coenzyme q10 and statin-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Ochsner J. 2010;10(1):16-21.
3. Garrido-Maraver J, Cordero MD, Oropesa-Ávila M, Fernández Vega A, de la Mata M, Delgado Pavón A, de Miguel M, Pérez Calero C, Villanueva Paz M, Cotán D, Sánchez-Alcázar JA. Coenzyme q10 therapy. Mol Syndromol. 2014 Jul;5(3-4):187-97. doi: 10.1159/000360101. PMID: 25126052; PMCID: PMC4112525.
Thank you to the Partnership for Personalized Prescriptions for the content of this blog.
Visit and support their website at www.p3rx.org
About the Partnership for Personalized Prescriptions
P3 is a subsidiary of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding. APC is the voice for pharmacy compounding, representing compounding pharmacists and technicians in both 503A and 503B settings, as well as prescribers, educators, researchers, suppliers, and patients.
In traditional compounding, pharmacists create a customized medication, most often from pure ingredients, for an individual patient pursuant to a prescription. Pharmacists’ ability to compound medications from pure ingredients is authorized in federal law and for good reason: Manufactured drugs don’t come in strengths and dosage forms that are right for everyone, and prescribers need to be able to prescribe customized medications when, in their judgment, a manufactured drug is not the best course of therapy for a human or animal patient.
Every day, APC members play a critical role in patients’ lives, preparing essential, custom medications for a range of health conditions, including autism, oncology, dermatology, ophthalmology, pediatrics, women’s health, animal health, and others.
To learn more, go to A4PC.org or compounding.com.
