According to a new study, there is no need for statin users to avoid moderate-intensity exercise. Photographer: Jessie Casson/Getty Images.
A recent study indicated that those on statins who are concerned about potential muscle damage should not be.
The muscles of statin-taking participants and control participants in the research felt roughly the same after moderate exercise.
High-intensity exercise, on the other hand, is not advised for statin users.
A new research offers hope to patients on statins who are scared to exercise for fear of suffering muscle damage.
Some persons using the cholesterol-lowering medication suffer muscular pain and may avoid physical exercise that is beneficial to their cardiovascular health.
The study discovered that statin users, whether they have muscular difficulties or not, had the same muscle-related effects from moderate-intensity exercise.
Temporary muscular discomfort and exhaustion are usual after such activity for everyone. This is also true for those who take statins. Participants in the research who took statins, on the other hand, needed a bit longer to recover than those in the control group.
The effects of moderate-intensity exercise were explored in this study. Other study has warned that eccentric, or high-intensity, exercise increases the risk of skeletal muscle injury in patients taking statins.
The new findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The report is accompanied with an editorial that emphasizes the significance of the study’s findings for statin patients’ cardiovascular health.
What exactly are statins?
Statins are a class of medications that can reduce the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, sometimes known as “bad cholesterol,” in a person’s blood.
“Statins are the most effective hyperlipidemia treatment.”Trusted Source [high cholesterol] and a big therapy after a heart attack,” said cardiologist Dr. David Lee of Oregon Health & Study University (OHSU), who was not part in the study.
“They are important treatments to prevent recurrent heart attacks and strokes,” he said.
Statins, according to Emilee Taylor, a doctor of pharmacy at OHSU who was not involved in the present study, “have been a major reason that heart disease and strokes have reduced significantly since their introduction in the early 1990s.”
“Their effects are large enough to reduce all-cause mortality even in adults with mild heart disease,” she added.
Exercise intensity is important.
The study included 35 symptomatic statin users — patients who had muscular difficulties as a result of statins — 34 asymptomatic, or symptom-free, statin users, and 31 non-statin users.
The symptomatic individuals were 80% male and averaged 64 years old. The control group was the same age as the study group, and 62% of the participants were male. The asymptomatic individuals were slightly older, 68 years old, and 82% were men.
Everyone took part in a moderate exercise program in which they walked 30, 40, or 50 kilometers (km) each day at their own pace for four days in a row.
One or two days before the walking began, researchers obtained participants’ baseline measures (weight, height, and waist circumference). On the first walking day, their heart rates were recorded every 5 kilometers.
Participants’ weight was evaluated at the conclusion of the first, second, and third days to assess their hydration. The researchers were able to estimate their walking speed and workout duration based on their start and end times. An estimate of exercise intensity was supplied via a heart-rate-based calculation.
Finally, participants discussed their experiences with muscular discomfort before and after the program.
While the researchers discovered that statin users had a longer recovery period from post-exercise muscular weakness than the control group, the effects of exercise were the same in both groups.
The research also measured CoQ10 levels in subjects. CoQ10 has been linked to muscular issues caused by statins.
The researchers discovered no difference in CoQ10 levels across the three groups, nor was it associated with muscular performance, reported muscle complaints, or injury signs.
The authors warn that their technique of assessing CoQ10 in leukocytes is not sensitive enough to detect modest but potentially significant variations.
Muscle aches caused by statins
Statin-related muscular difficulties are referred to as “SAMS,” which stands for “statin-associated muscle symptoms.” Myalgia, cramping, and felt muscular weakening are examples of these symptoms.
Because of worries about SAMS, some individuals who may benefit from statins refuse to take them or do not take the advised amounts.
There is substantial debate over how prevalent SAMS experiences are. According to the American College of Cardiology, the incidence of SAMS in randomized controlled trials is minimal, but significantly greater in clinical observation studies.
According to one studyTrusted Source of former statin users, 62% discontinued the medicine owing to negative effects.
According to the National Lipid Association (NLA), research indicates that the true incidence of SAMS is around 10%, with studies varying from 5% to 25% among statin users.
While the symptoms claimed by patients are true, the NLA claims that statins are not the source of 80% of them.
“I think it’s important,” Dr. Lee added, “that doctors properly educate patients on what SAMS typically presents as so patients can be more aware of what to look out for.”
Why is physical activity’very important’?
With frequent, if overblown, allegations of SAMS, some statin users are concerned about the safety of exercise.
Dr. Neeltje A. E. Allard of Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, highlighted why this is worrying to MNT:
“The combination of statin therapy and physical fitness reduces mortality risk more effectively than either strategy alone.” Patients who are on statins have higher risk factors for cardiovascular disease, thus a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, is critical for these patients.”
Previous study by Dr. Allard showed that statin users may safely participate in a 12-week moderate-intensity exercise program that improves muscular function without worsening muscle complaints.
The latest study verifies this and assures statin users that moderate exercise does not have to be avoided.
Recommendations for Exercise While on Statins
Dr. Michael S. Broukhim, a board-certified interventional cardiologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not involved in the study, summarized current statin recommendations.
“Patients should continue to take their statins at their maximally tolerated dose after discussion with their healthcare providers, and should implement a regular exercise program, with a preference for a moderate-intensity exercise program,” he said.
Dr. Broukhim said that he advises 150 minutes of moderate activity each week, which is the same amount of exercise as is suggested for patients who do not take statins.
He advised statin users to avoid high-intensity exercise, which might cause muscle damage by raising muscle enzymes to dangerous levels.
“Also,” Dr. Broukhim warned, “patients should contact their doctors if they develop fevers, chest pain, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, severe muscle aches/pains, dark urine, muscle swelling, nausea, vomiting, severe weakness, or malaise.”
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