Statins & long distance running

SaraLord

Administrator
Jun 23, 2010
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Hi Everyone! I'm not looking for replacement medical advice. . .

My husband age 50, has genetically high cholesterol and triglycerides, untreated they can go as high as 440 and 700+ respectively. He has run about 8 marathons and a bunch of half's. He stopped taking statins about 4 years ago when his Dr. told him Lipitor and the Marine Corps marathon would probably kill him.

Since then he's wandered from supplement to supplement, red yeast rice, niacin, he's now a subject matter expert. His Cholesterol is still above 260. Diet is okay, getting better every year.

So, after a trip to the ER for chest pain (there was no heart event, likely gastro-intestinal), he has an appt to see a cardiologist who I know will load him up on statins. We also discovered during the ER visit that he has high blood pressure which is now very well managed with medication. The ER docs told him NO MORE DISTANCE RUNNING.

Question: Do any of you have input on marathoning and statins?

My guy is a former Marine tank officer - I can't bear the thought that he might have to give up what he enjoys so much.

PS - he isn't a barefooter (don't hold it against him) but loves the idea that I am.
 
I take statins and an

I take statins and an anti-hypertensive.

I don't run long distances, as barefoot 5K is my only running interest.

My internist is a regular century cyclist and is my same age (57 1/2).

At my last visit I asked him about those concerns, and he cleared me to race any distance I desired, including marathon.

He did warn me about guaranteed joint problems, and refused to believe barefoot running would prevent that inevitability.

My cardiologist buddy works out at the same gym I winter treadmill at, and he felt the same way.

Any distance and speed I want he said could only help my heart, but he warned against joint damage as well.

I believe as they do, that anyone with coronary artery disease potential not only can run distances, but is probably better off if they do, PROVIDED they have no known serious blockages diagnosed in functional testing.
 
Longboard!  Thanks so much

Longboard! Thanks so much for taking the time. I've read a few studies which imply that long distance runners and heavy duty athletes suffer higher rates of calcium buildup in the heart, so your input is appreciated.

Isn't it tough to combat misconceptions about BFR? I'm sure the more of us there are, the more the mistruths will disappear.

Thank your cardiologist for me - Sara
 
No advice, but sympathy that

No advice, but sympathy that your husband is grappling with this. Hubby has very high cholesterol (like 300) but after reading and researching every last bit of info is not concerned in the least. BUT his tri's are around 50.

For your husband: What are his tri's like now? Does he eat radically low-carb? What do you think is the underlying imbalance? I would not do anything until I had a calcium scoring test of the heart. If he's got no calcium buildup, I would think some more about how to deal with those tri's. What's his HDL? How's his blood sugar? What is the full picture?
 
Like LB, I take both a statin

Like LB, I take both a statin and a hypertensive. My doctor thinks my running is fine, though he scratches his head and looks at me funny when I start rattling on about BF. It's all the same to him.

I sort of expect my need to worry about my blood pressure will go away when I drop another 10 or 15 pounds, and my HDL / LDL ratio is very good at 3.5. (I just had it tested last week.) I think what's also good is that my resting pulse is about 45 - my heart's pretty strong and happy.

Running the way I'm training, I'm not pushing to break any records. I keep my pace down to where I can breath well enough to breath through my nose and converse (at least if I had anyone to run with.) I should be able to run all day at that pace in due time, and not put too much strain on my heart, I figure.

So, yes, I'm not a doctor. I do get touchy when I hear of somebody who seems like a first class healthy, sane, conscious person being told " DON'T RUN BECAUSE YOU'LL DIE!"
 
as a dietitian- I think I'd

as a dietitian- I think I'd ask what he does dietwise now... if he's mostly happy, and if there are other issues from the long term high lipids.. to be honest.. exercise is a way to LOWER your lipids! if he's happy, but its still too high, I'd be the first to say, keep up the running (and so would most of the docs I've worked with), but to add a statin and monitor things.. what type of distance does he do regularly? they may be concerned about the sudden change that someone who runs a marathon once a year and other than immediately prior in training is a 10 mile a week runner would cause themselves in lipid levels (too low is bad too), but otherwise, I'd ask the doc to explain why he doesn't want him running like that... there may be something else going on that we're not taking into consideration.



Heck- we have a local group of older (50+) dietitians and med professionals who did a marathon together last year!
 
It's quite complicated, and

It's quite complicated, and given that the orthopods, podiatrists, naturopaths, chiropracters, and others have'nt really figured out the running mechanics thing as of yet, it's no wonder that cardiologists still admit that they are for the most part in the dark as to how blood pressure, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides, etc. really affect coronary artery disease.

In addition Calcium Scoring is not completly understood either.

Example: many people with prefectly decent lipid panel #'s have terrible calcium scores upon screening. They for sure have atherosclerotic plaque build-ups in their coronary arteries, and could end up with a bleed & clot at any time while at rest resulting in a heart attack possibly leading to death. BUT, the simple act of taking a low dose aspirin daily could prevent that from happening. That same person may not have any blockages severe enough to impede blood flow to the heart itself, and could succesfully run an ultra despite the calcified arterial walls.

Other's with TERRIBLE cholesterol numbers have a very decent calcium score, will not crack and bleed & clot for no apparent reason, but have a massive constriction at a critical point, i.e. "The Widow Maker" and really could push themselves beyond the brink in a simple 1 mile fun run.

Certain conditions indeed are no-brainers resulting in docs recommending sedentarianism, but others are just guesses and assumptions with no more science behind them the rather experimental theory of orthotics.
 
I am confused, why would

I am confused, why would statins and a marathon kill him if his heart is not bad and he is not suffering side effects of Statins?

I am 50 and my cardiologist has me on Simvastatin and he knows I run distance. He is not concerned. Red Yeast Rice is a statin, you should know that. Taking RYR is a risk in that you cannot guarentee the dosage however it does seem to work. I started statins cause I get them free and I got tired of buying RYR. Simvastatin is a synthetic copy of Red Yeast Rice Statins. I am not a Doctor, my advice is useless but I will tell you that my doc told me to take CoQ10 since I am on statins. I take 300mg CoQ10 before bedtime. Statins Deplete CoQ10 and we have a hard time absorbing the nutrient so it takes a lot to counteract the depletion. I also take Niacin immediate release twice a day at 1GM each dose to keep my HDL up. Between the statins and the Niacin I am 102 LDL, 57 HDL. This I am happy about. Triglicerides are something like 75. I think... Calcium, no clue. I also take 6 grams of fish oil a day and an asprin.

It boggles my mind any doctor would discourage running although I know they do for various reasons.
 
I also take CoQ10 because I'm

I also take CoQ10 because I'm on a statin.

Lava, calcium levels is not what we were talking about.

Calcium scoring is a high speed CT scan that can image the calcification present in coronary arteries.

It cannot determine degrees of blockage, but is considered a screening tool.

If an individual has no evidence of calcified deposits in vessles, he/she PROBABLY does not have blockage.

I know a runner that has a very high calcium score (95'th percentile for his age) but has no detectible blockage resulting in diminished blood flow to his heart upon undergoing nuclear stress testing.

It's just a screening tool, and possibly not a good one.