With the improvement of living standards, the dietary structure of middle-aged and elderly people has undergone great changes, and the intake of calories is increasing, but the body's metabolic ability has gradually decreased, which provides an opportunity for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
These diseases include cerebral infarction, organic angina, myocardial infarction, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc. Once you suffer from these diseases, you need to take long-term medication to control them, which is a great threat to your health.
Among these cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the most frightening are myocardial infarction and cerebral infarction. Therefore, once cardiovascular disease is diagnosed, it is important to continue taking statins.
Atorvastatin: mainly used for hypercholesterolemia and coronary heart disease. Atorvastatin can significantly reduce total cholesterol, LDL, and triglyceride levels in the blood.
Lovastatin: can lower total cholesterol and LDL levels in the blood.
Simvastatin: It can lower total cholesterol, LDL, and triglyceride levels in the blood, while also increasing HDL levels.
Pravastatin: is a weaker statin that is mainly used for hypercholesterolemia.
Fluvastatin: can lower total cholesterol and LDL levels in the blood.
For people with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and hyperlipidemia, it should be well known that statins are effective in anti-arterial arteriosclerosis and stabilize blood lipids.
If you experience some extreme discomfort during the period of taking statins, such as muscle aches, decreased appetite, indigestion, diarrhea, headache, flatulence, etc., first suspend the medication and go to the hospital for examination to avoid adverse effects on the body.
1.Grapefruit fruits
Grapefruit fruits such as grapefruit, oranges, lemons, and limes contain a substance called furanocoumarin, which inhibits the activity of an enzyme called CYP3A4 in the liver.
Statins, on the other hand, are metabolized primarily through this enzyme. Therefore, eating grapefruit while taking statins may slow down the metabolism of the drug, causing the drug to accumulate in the body, increasing the chance of occurrence. Therefore, it is advisable to try to avoid grapefruit while taking statins.
2.High-protein foods
For patients who take statins for a long time, eat less high-protein foods such as lean meat, eggs, milk and fish, otherwise it may lead to a decrease in the body's protein metabolism, burden the kidneys, and may even lead to kidney failure.
This is because the kidneys are responsible for processing the waste products produced by metabolizing proteins, and the more high-protein foods you consume, the harder your kidneys need to work, which will undoubtedly put a burden on kidney function.
In addition, statins themselves can also have some effects on the kidneys. Therefore, if patients consume high-protein foods for a long time while taking these drugs, it will cause double damage to the kidneys.
3.Oats
During the ** period, many people will choose to replace steamed bread and rice with oats as staple foods, which can reduce the GI value and fat conversion rate. From a medical point of view, pure oats are rich in fat-soluble fiber and antioxidants, which have a significant effect on lowering blood lipids.
Although the benefits of oats are numerous, they should not be eaten while taking statins, because the fat-soluble fiber of oats can improve stomach motility and promote the excretion of food debris.
In addition to liver metabolism, statins will also pass through the stomach If taken with oats, the drug has not yet worked, and will be excreted with the oats, which cannot have the effect of lowering blood lipids.
4.Red yeast rice products
In recent years, red yeast rice products and health products made from red yeast rice have been very popular, such as red yeast rice, red yeast rice powder, etc., and everyone believes that red yeast rice can achieve good health care effects.
Red yeast rice is a substance that can take care of the spleen and stomach and can reduce blood lipid levels, but if you are taking statins, it is not suitable to eat red yeast rice products.
After the drug ingredients in red yeast rice are combined with statins, they will easily cause ***, such as impaired liver and kidney function, increased levels of aminotransferases and creatine kinase, etc.
1.Avoid concomitant use with certain medications
Statins can interact with certain drugs, which may increase the effectiveness of the drug or weaken the efficacy of the drug, so during the medication, it should be avoided to use it at the same time with specific drugs (such as erythromycin, warfarin, etc.), or under the guidance of a doctor.
2.Note***
Statins have certain symptoms such as muscle pain and liver damage, so it is necessary to check liver function and muscle enzyme levels regularly during taking the drug, and inform the doctor in time if there are uncomfortable symptoms to avoid aggravating the condition.
3.Take your medication at regular intervals
Take it half an hour before going to bed, because the peak of cholesterol synthesis is about 12 o'clock at night, and taking the medicine half an hour before going to bed can reach the peak at night, which is more conducive to lowering cholesterol. It should be taken in accordance with the doctor's instructions, and if you miss the medicine, you should make up for it in time. In some cases, you may need to take twice the amount of medication until the time of the next dose.
4.Be mindful of what you eat
Do not overdose on grapefruit and grapefruit products while taking statins, as they can delay statin metabolism and easily induce adverse reactions. Patients should also pay attention to lifestyle changes, eat a low-salt, low-fat, balanced diet, reduce cholesterol intake, and promote moderate exercise.
5.Regularly monitor lipid status
Each patient must be aware of his or her blood lipid profile and go to the hospital for regular check-ups. Only when blood lipids are stable under normal conditions can cardiovascular disease be ensured. Clinically, dyslipidemia can be divided into hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, mixed hyperlipidemia, and hypohigh-density lipoproteinemia.
The test of blood lipids is very convenient, and the results can be obtained by routine physical examinations. In addition, it should be noted that the blood lipid test should be performed on an empty stomach, and the patient should try not to eat anything in the early morning of the next day, so as not to affect the accuracy of the test results.
Conclusion: For long-term use of statin drugs, in addition to insisting on taking drugs, it is also necessary to adjust personal living habits and dietary habits, recheck regularly, and seek medical examination as soon as possible if there is physical discomfort to avoid damage to physical health.