Statins and Strategies for Extended Well-being

Narrator: 0:00

Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Minute radio show hosted by Kevin Gettings of WSOS St. Augustine Radio and powered by ENCORE Research Group. Each Monday morning, Dr. Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates with insightful discussions. MedEvidence is where we help you navigate the real truth behind medical research, with both a clinical and research perspective. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn about the truth behind the data in medicine and health care. This is MedEvidence.

Kevin Geddings: 0:30

Dr. Michael Koren joins us on Mondays, including on Martin Luther King the holiday, and we appreciate you listening in and we're going to talk about a couple of topics today, including statins and also growing older and how to live longer. And there's a very popular TV series on Netflix right now called Blue Zones, where this gentleman goes around to places like Okinawa and places in Costa Rica and Italy and talks to people who live in areas you know zip codes if you will where people tend to live into their 100s or some do more than in other places. Thoughts about that.

Dr. Michael Koren: 1:04

Yeah, it's funny that came up during the weekend. I've had several conversations with people about how to live long. One person mentioned the Blue Zone, the Blue Zone show, I guess it is and other people talked about living above 90, living above 100, and what the secret was. And the highlight of the weekend was I went to a 90th birthday party and it happened to be somebody who I've been taking care of as a patient for a number of years, who had a lot of complications but is still enjoying life in his 90s, and that was quite fulfilling for me to see. And, interestingly, we had a conversation with this patient and some other people speculating as to how people get into their 90s and their idea was well, this is about social structure and it's about diet and it's about physical activity and all those things are important, no doubt. But I'm thinking, geez, if this guy hadn't been on statin for the last 30 years, he wouldn't be here. So it's really a combination and the question I have for you, Kevin, is a lot of people have this notion it has to be one or the other, but it really could be both. Medicine and good lifestyle can coexist and I'm not sure why people think you have to choose between the two.

Kevin Geddings: 2:19

Yeah, and recently I don't know whether it's because of Dr. Google or some of the negative aspects of social media, but people feel like, well, they're very suspect of anything that comes out of a pharmaceutical company, for example, and yet we know that our life expectancy has been greatly enhanced by medications like statins.

Dr. Michael Koren: 2:37

No doubt, no doubt. Yeah, part of it is that if you have a side effect to something, you know who you are, but if it makes you live longer, you don't always know who you are, and so this fell as an example. I know that if it wasn't for statin, he would not be around for this party, but he's just living life and not necessarily aware of the benefits he's getting.

Kevin Geddings: 2:59

Yeah, we see in the media. You had mentioned a piece in the epic Epoch Times, I believe it is where they will criticize statins or what have you. But a very small percentage of people have any side effects from statins and I think you've estimated tens of millions of people have lived much longer because they've taken things like Lipitora right.

Dr. Michael Koren: 3:18

No doubt. Well, what happens is that you take something that has a basis in truth, which is that some people get muscle aches on statins. It turns out it's a relatively small percentage that is really attributable to the statins, because muscle aches are very common. So if you look at studies, the people who are on statins have muscle aches 25% of the time and the people who are not on statins, who are in placebo, get muscle aches 24% of the time. So the difference is very minor, but it gets out there that there is a little bit of a difference. Then, of course, every muscle ache that occurs is attributable to the statins, but those numbers are much, much more favorable for reducing heart attack and stroke and actually living longer. And certainly muscle aches can occur, but they're relatively minor. They almost always stop when you stop the drug. If they are in fact attributable to the drug, they're very manageable. There's a lot of things we can do nowadays to help manage these things, but if you've had a stroke, you can't turn that around. Once your brain has been damaged, you can't get it back. So I always try to explain that to patients, help them know that the things that statins prevent are things that are irreversible, and that's why it's so important to take them.

Kevin Geddings: 4:30

Yeah, once again, that's Dr. Michael Koren, of course, with ENCORE Research Group, and they do clinical research in the area of lowering cholesterol and doing all kinds of other things for cardiovascular health as well as other aspects of your future health. You can be a part of leading edge medical research, benefit from it, even perhaps be financially compensated. By getting in touch with ENCORE Research Group, their offices here in St. John's County near UF Flagler Hospital, go to ENCOREdocs. com. That's ENCOREdoc. com, and indeed you've spent a lot of time doing research in the area of statins right, even the potential for it. Like we could maybe get an injection someday instead of taking a pill every night.

Dr. Michael Koren: 5:10

Yeah, there's a lot of research right now in the cholesterol space. We use the word lipid space, which is the word for blood fat, and we have some drugs that we've tested or are testing. We get injections twice a year and that helps people with their cholesterol problems. Some people don't like injections, so now we're looking at things that are just as powerful as injections that you take in a pill form. So we have different programs for different people and, depending on what your objectives are, it's probably a program that's going to work for you, and we're looking at people that are at very high risk for cardiovascular complications and some people that may be not quite as high risk. So that's the other part of the puzzle. Not everybody needs medication. In part, the assessment is whether or not your risk is high. Higher the risk, the more intervention you'd be likely to need. So we're very proud of the fact that we help people understand that and we kind of guide them to the right direction. A lot of times we tell people hey, you're just a little bit nervous about your health, but you're actually in pretty darn good health and keep on doing what you're doing.

Kevin Geddings: 6:13

Yeah, well, if you would like to participate in some leading-edge medical research could deal with your high cholesterol issues, maybe some other heart health problems you have, even in the areas of dementia, flu vaccines, the whole gamut. You can learn more by going to ENCOREdocs. com that's ENCOREdocs. com, or call locally this number, j ust punch it into your cell phone, 904-730-0166, and ask how you can learn more about participating in clinical trials going on right here in greater St. Augustine, 904-730-0166. And before we let you go, Dr. Koren, tell us about MedEvidence. com, the website.

Dr. Michael Koren: 6:53

That's our information platform. We have some great podcasts on it, we have great power point presentations and other ways of learning and, most importantly, to understand all sides of the issue. Again, as we started, it doesn't have to be one thing or another. You're most likely the greatest likelihood of getting into that Blue Zone is by using all modalities. Use good social structures, use good diet, exercise, but also use good medicine when it's appropriate. You put all these things together and you, too, can get to your 90s or even up to 100.

Kevin Geddings: 7:26

Absolutely Well, once again, visit that website. Good information, you know. I would argue certainly 5,000 more times more reliable than Dr. Google. You know, get some good, qualified information at MedEvidence. com. Check that out, MedEvidence. com. Dr. Koren, we appreciate you taking time out on this Monday morning. We hope you have a good day. Okay, be safe out there. You too, Kevin, have a great week.

Narrator: 7:49

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