My doctor thinks statins help everyone. But I do not want to go on one- -my cholesterol is not bad compared to many people -total 215?

CVD is the worlds number one cause of death, with 18 million victims world wide.

Around 4 million of those deaths can be attributed to structural damage, clotting problems, fevers and infections.

The other 14 million is attributed to diet.

When examiners autopsy the bodies, in the blood vessels supplying the heart, and the arteries leading to the brain and lungs, cholesterol/plaque build up can be literally pulled out like spaghetti and examined.

The only causal factor for atherosclerosis is cholesterol. and it is well established that saturated and trans fatty acids increase ldl, and increase oxidization and inflammation which further increases the risk of cvd

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23423521

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23083789

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10891962

People born with low ldl have a reduced risk of heart disease

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16554528

people born with high ldl have an increased risk of heart disease

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8610605

http://heart.bmj.com/content/102/13/1003

the optimal levels for LDL are below 70mg/dl. This is where atherosclerosis is impossible:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15172426

So It isn't surprising that Lipitor at many points was the most sold drug in the world, with the blood thinner Plavixit coming second.

Lipitor generated 10 Billion dollars each year before the patent expired.

It lowers cholesterol, and is marketed to people with cardiovasular disease, and other metabolic conditions that increase their risk of heart disease.

studies show weight loss is supposed to bring down cholesterol scores

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/11/294...

How they trick you into bad health:

http://www.nutritionfacts.org/video/the-saturated-...

http://www.nutritionfacts.org/video/how-the-egg-bo...

There are few side effects from taking the right statin. Your doctor went to school for years and years. Trust him.

You can't compare your cholesterol to others without adding in family history and over all health.

Total should be less than 200 but yours is still borderline so it is up to you if you take statins or not - I am type 2 diabetic so have to have levels lower than normal and doc gave me statins and I took them for several months and had pains in arms and legs and stopped taking them. Partner is also diabetic and takes statins with no side effects so everyone is different but you might have to try different ones until you find one that suits you but if you stick to a stick diet and exercise it can lower your cholesterol

Take niacin and red yeast rice. Statins do NO good and a lot of harm. Hence all of the Alzheimer’s and people needing liver transplants from taking statins. Studies have been done and there is NO proof at all that statins prevent heart attacks or strokes. Be smart do the natural cures!!!!

Your cholesterol is too high. Either change your diet, or get on the pills.

Long term studies have shown they will extend your life.

IF, I had a Medical Degree, I MIGHT challenge the treatment proposed by my Physician. Since I do NOT have a Medical Degree, I follow the advice of my Physician, carefully.

95% of the cholesterol in the body is made by the liver , statins work by killing liver cells unfortunately that's not all they kill hence the number of side effects some of which can be severe it will not be a surprise of long term use of ststins leads to permanent liver damage

When mine is high I take out ALL saturated fats and this makes it drop.

I had statins once for 3 days and had awful pains in my legs.

However, my husband takes them with no problems.

UK

If you have the printout of your lab results, there might be a calculated cardiac risk score that is based on factors that might include age, family history of heart problems, blood pressure, habits like smoking, and cholesterol. If that score is high, docs often recommend statins. Doctors can make the same type of judgement based on your medical history without calculating a score. It is of course up to you to decide whether to use statins. Since your cholesterol is already fairly good, you could probably keep your cardiac risk score low through exercise and maintaining a healthy diet.

What is your question?

I hope you're not here to take medical advice from the peanut gallery on Yahoo than from your physician who is licensed to practice medicine.

If you want a second opinion, go get a professional one.