I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and blood pressure and the treating agent or so called doctor intended to later prescribe a staten drug to control my trigliceride level. Before she advised me of her choice and while we were disgussing my blood report, she said that under treatment, a lot of men had died but they would have anyway and I couldn't understand what the hell she was referring to. The statement was so unusual, I thought she may have been losing her mind or had an unsuccessful bout with her hormone levels, so I didn't want to delve too deeply into this SIDE issue and let it drop.
A few minutes later I was told to expect shipment of the statin drug, atenolol to lower my cholesterol levels and I totally forgot the statement about patients dying. It seemed completely out of context with our discussion anyway. There seemed to be no negative side effects for about six months and when I had my first heart attack and several other events, when I had pain in my neck and jaw, I never connected the experience with the drug I was taking. When I reported the problems to the V.A. agent, she made no comment, but just asked if the pain was current. I didn't know until later that any such episode demands a trip to the E.R.
I had over fifty cardiac episodes during the later months and reported all of them at my appointments, every three months, but no information was forthcoming from the V.A. representative. While watching a television channel later, a doctor mentioned that statins strip the heart and muscles of the body of what's called Co-Q-10, a chemical CRITICAL to the cells of the heart and muscles to produce A.T.P.: The energy molecule that creates the power to move, and in the case of the heart muscle movement is life! If Co-Q-10 is diminished for a long enough period of time, the level will become low enough that the heart WILL eventually stop.
I went to the computer and searched Atenolol and its side effects, then I reported my findings to the jerkoff at the V.A. She said there was no replacement for the statin drug, unless I wanted one with another name!! So, I asked her to stop the prescription and asked if she could prescribe Co-Q-10 to repair the damage, she had done, to my heart. She informed me that no such prescription could be made and that the durg companies claimed that statins don't damage the heart. I replied, "They SELL this stuff. Do you think they're stupid enough to admit that it's poisonous?"
A couple years later, I remembered her outrageous statement initially, that seemed so irrational at the the time when she blurted it out, that I thougt she might be crazy! "Under treatment, a lot of men have died but they would have died anyway."
I wonder how many ex-G.I.'s she's put in the grave.