How Statins Work Explained
The term statin is not something familiar with many people, however, it is for millions of people out there a term that they are very aware of. The term refers to drugs that help block a key enzyme in the production of cholesterol. Of course, cholesterol production naturally occurs in the liver and in the right amounts does not pose a problem to the body. However, the body has a tendency to produce too much cholesterol for some people and more so it creates a type of cholesterol called LDL, which when elevated greatly can cause stroke, cardio vascular disease, and heart attack. Statin drugs overall have been seen to lower LDL levels by up to fifty-five percent and raise good cholesterol, HDL, by up to fifteen percent. There have been countless studies that have backed the percentages and points towards information that in large doses of statin drugs, patients can avoid their first heart attack and in many cases can prevent a second heart attack also.
On a more technical level, statins really work by blocking HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methyglutaryl COA) reductase, which blocks the liver’s ability to make LDL. At an ever further level, this causes LDL receptors on the surface of the liver, in turn removing more cholesterol from the bloodstream and reducing the risk for high-cholesterol related problems. There are also more benefits to taking statins, and they seem to help with a variety of smaller problems, although when mentioned they seem to be big problems.
If you’re wondering how statins work, you no longer have to live in the dark. There is a plethora of information out there at your disposal. Statins help reduce high cholesterol in men and women, but also has some great side-effects. Now, while most journals will explain the complications, few tend to talk about the good side-effects that come alongside statins. For instance, patients that take statins found that they reduce oxidative stress in body tissue, and reduce inflammation, as well as stabilize plaque on the blood vessel walls. Patients that take statins have also seen a major reduction in the likely chance of dying from pneumonia and the flu. Of course, aspirin have anti-inflammatory effects can help with many of these things, but in terms of this medication, there are good overall better effects, as well as the main focus which is lowering cholesterol.
Statins not only help fight cholesterol, it has been stated that it can also help prevent some types of diseases, including some forms of cancer. This occurs by working against cellular functions that may be directly involved with tumor growth. This has been conflicted in many journals, but there are studies that are on the side of this medication type. Further more, in more recent studies it has shown that taking these medications regularly might help offset Alzheimer’s Disease, and stop it from forming. These health related issues are a contested topic and should not be relied on fully without further investigation, but one thing is for sure; these medications help people reduce their risk of heart attack. 
