Statins - would you push for them?

[Troubler]

I have high cholesterol. My dad has genetic high cholesterol (familial HC) and my mum had a heart attack when she was 66.

I recently had a blood test for work insurance and they cut back my life cover through work because my cholesterol was high.

but when I went to the GP, he said my Q risk score was low and therefore I didn’t need statins.

Is it worth trying to get them? My family who live abroad are quite horrified that I haven’t got them given all the heart issues in my family but the GP was adamant he wasn’t going to prescribe them unless I had other risk factors which apparently I don’t!

I’m guessing I would have to go private to get them as the NHS GP is adamant I don’t need them

The thing is, I think I need to take the statins or I won't live long enough to get dementia. Between a rock and a hard place. But while my heart attack was happening I was thinking I definitely don't want to die yet.

Damage to what?

I lost weight using WLI - I lost 2 stone, BMi was 27 so only just qualified. cholesterol gone from 5.1 to 3.7 in 3 months.

They are definitely not routine unless there is an underlying risk factor that needs to be checked. So I'd say unless you are referred it might have to be privately done.

In my case, at the same time I was in patient for the bile duct issue, it was discovered that I had Atrial Fibrillation. I was more shocked by that than the bile duct problem as I had no symptoms whatsoever! So as part of the workup for Afib the cardiologist arranged for a Calcium CT, and the high cholesterol was an added reason. All was well as I said and it was done free as an inpatient.

Afib is another long story altogether. I could write the book!

I don’t want to belittle the good that statins do. But please don’t belittle the bad. My grandmother died from rhabdomyolysis caused by statins, and her case and others like it are why many statins now have a black box warning in the US. It’s not just muscle cramps; she’s just as “fucking dead” as those who need statins and don’t take them - unfortunately, I understand it’s a double-edged sword. I’m not at all saying they’re not helpful or necessary in some cases, but it is a medication that can have very serious side effects and any GP must determine if risking them is worth it. Deaths like my grandmother’s have made lots of GPs more hesitant to prescribe them vs 10 years ago. The GP may be wrong in OP’s case; I agree that a second opinion is a good idea, and I really hope you find the right solution (if that’s statins or not), OP. Good luck.

I meant to say in my previous post that it was not ME who arranged the CT, it was the hospital doc, despite him not being too concerned about my high chol. It was the Afib diagnosis that spurred things on, and I wanted one too, having looked it up!

GPs mostly follow NICE guidance. Here’s an AI summary of what it says about prescribing statins:

Risk assessment and when to consider statins

• In the guideline Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction, including lipid modification (NG238, 2023) NICE recommends using a 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk score (for example using QRISK3) in people without existing CVD to identify those who may benefit.
• The threshold for offering statin treatment (primary prevention) remains at a 10-year CVD risk of 10% or more.
• Importantly, NICE also says that for people whose risk is less than 10% over 10 years, a statin can be considered (i.e., in a shared-decision process) especially if there is concern the risk may be underestimated, or the person strongly prefers it.

Have you expressed to them already that you’d “strongly prefer” statins? And how much under 10% is your QRISK?