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[1] Huang Haixia. What are the contraindications to the diet of the elderly with hyperlipidemia? Medicine and Health Care News,2024-01-27(005).
[1] Feng Xia. Drug treatment and dietary conditioning of hyperlipidemia[N].Medicine and Health Care News,2024-01-11(012).
With the continuous improvement of living standards and changes in living habits, the number of people suffering from hyperlipidemia in mainland China is also increasing. According to the latest survey, the number of people over the age of 18 with dyslipidemia in mainland China is as high as about 120 million. Dyslipidemia, also known as hyperlipidemia, is called "wealth disease" by the people, but because there is no discomfort in the early stage, and it is mostly aggravated unconsciously, when symptoms appear, serious complications often appear, so hyperlipidemia is also known as the "silent killer". ”
Uncle Liu is a retiree of a state-owned enterprise, as the saying goes, nothing is light, after retirement, Uncle Liu's mentality is very good, and his body has begun to be blessed, but he doesn't care at all, as the so-called wide body fat. In June 2020, Uncle Liu's community organization for the elderly who met the age conditions had a physical examination and was found to have dyslipidemia, triglycerides were 2.6mmol/L, low-density lipoprotein was 4.3mmol/L, and high-density lipoprotein was 1.5mol/l.
After understanding the doctor's meaning, Uncle Liu thought that the disease that should not be taken medicine was a minor problem, and it was normal for the body's metabolism to decline and increase blood lipids when he was old, so he still did not change his previous living habits, let alone go to the hospital for a reexamination. In June 2021, Uncle Liu, who was full of vitality after retirement, often felt poor in spirit, not only poor sleep quality at night, but also sleepy during the day, and was not relieved after resting.
But after that, Uncle Liu found that he had more and more small problems, not only could not raise his appetite when eating, but also caused abdominal distension when he finally ate some, Uncle Liu did not suffer less, so he planned to go to the hospital to see. It was found that triglycerides were 8.2mmol/L, low-density lipoprotein was 9.6mmol/l, and high-density lipoprotein was 0.5mol/l, which was higher than before.
The doctor told Uncle Liu that he was because of the high blood lipids in the body, which caused blood lipids to be deposited on the liver, resulting in liver damage and liver metabolic disorders, resulting in fatigue, loss of appetite, and abdominal distention. And the harm of hyperlipidemia is not only this, if the blood lipids are deposited on the cardiovascular system, it can cause coronary heart disease and even myocardial infarction. Deposition on cerebral blood vessels can cause dizziness and even cerebral infarction. Therefore, lipid-regulating drugs are needed to lower blood lipids and avoid exacerbation of symptoms.
According to Uncle Liu's condition, the doctor chose atorvastatin calcium tablets. This drug is the preferred drug for lipid-lowering statins, which can inhibit the synthesis of cholesterol in blood lipid components, and can also reduce the levels of low-density cholesterol and triglycerides, thereby reducing blood lipids. And low-density lipoprotein is also an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, which can prevent the development of plaque after being reduced, so atorvastatin calcium tablets can also be used to treat coronary heart disease, angina, cerebral infarction and other diseases.
Under the doctor's explanation, Uncle Liu began to realize that the simple disease of hyperlipidemia is not simple at all, and atorvastatin is also related to the rest of his life, which is his own life-saving medicine, and he didn't dare to forget to take a pill, and even feared that he had a poor memory and forgot to take the medicine, and specially instructed his wife to remember to remind him to take medicine. After that, I began to change my diet, do not have fatty meat on the table, and do not put animal oil in cooking.
A month later, Uncle Liu was pleasantly surprised to find that his triglyceride was 4.6mmol/L, low-density lipoprotein was 5.3mmol/L, and high-density lipoprotein was 0.5mol/l, and the blood lipid index was close to the normal value. However, in the third month of the follow-up, the blood lipid level was still declining, but the aminotransferase was increased to 85.2.
With questions and confusion, Uncle Liu immediately found the doctor to ask for clarification. The doctor comforted Uncle Liu not to worry, impaired liver function is a common side effect of atorvastatin, you can continue to take it at present, when the aminotransferase is three times higher than the normal value, you can consider stopping the drug or reducing the dose, and explain to Uncle Liu to come back to check the liver function after a month.
Hearing the doctor's explanation, Uncle Liu was relieved and went home with peace of mind. However, a month later, when he came to the hospital for a reexamination, the aminotransferases continued to rise, and this time Uncle Liu was not calm, and hurriedly asked the doctor, what should I do now? The doctor was also very puzzled, atorvastatin is relatively safe and will not have such big side effects, is it because Uncle Liu has a special physique?
In order to find out the reason, the doctor carefully inquired about Uncle Liu's diet and medication, and finally found the reason, the reason is that these three seemingly unrelated little things, many patients who have been taking statins for a long time but have poor blood lipid control are also stuck in these two small things. These three details are corrected, and only by taking statins can they be truly safe and effective.
One is the dose
Uncle Liu was overly worried that high blood lipids would affect his health, thinking that the more lipid-lowering drugs he ate, the better the effect, and the faster the lipid-lowering speed, without the guidance of a doctor, from one pill a day to two pills a day, resulting in the accumulation of drugs in the body and further damaging liver function.
In fact, the dose of atorvastatin is comprehensively considered by the doctor according to the patient's blood lipid level, cardiovascular risk and other factors, and then the drug dose will be adjusted according to the patient's drug effect.
The second is dietary coordination
Uncle Liu ate foods containing furanocoumarin while taking atorvastatin. It is possible to find synergistic or contraindicated effects between all drug foods, and the synergistic food of statins is furanocoumarin food. This substance is commonly found in grapefruit, grapefruit juice, etc., and consuming these foods while taking atorvastatin will increase the concentration of the drug in the body and increase the side effects of the drug.
The third is side effects
Uncle Liu only noticed that atorvastatin had a good lipid-lowering effect, but he ignored that any drug has side effects, and traditional Chinese medicine is no exception. Therefore, without the guidance of a doctor, increasing the dose without permission will lead to an increase in the burden on the liver, and atorvastatin itself will damage liver function, cause a rapid rise in aminotransferases, and in severe cases, it will also lead to jaundice, bloating and other symptoms.
Therefore, before taking the medicine, you also need to understand the precautions of the medicine. For example, the common side effect of atorvastatin is creatine, which can also cause an increase in blood sugar, and even gastrointestinal reactions such as diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. During the medication, liver function and creatine kinase levels are closely observed to ensure the safety of the medication.
At the same time, on the road to lipid-lowering, in addition to taking lipid-lowering drugs, healthy diet and exercise are also a major help for lipid-lowering. In daily life, you can control the intake of calories, increase the income of high-quality protein such as fish, eggs, lean meat, etc., and also increase the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins and have the effect of protecting the liver and lowering lipids. Vegetables rich in dietary fiber such as cabbage, carrots, greens, etc., can not only promote intestinal peristalsis, reduce cholesterol absorption, but also prevent constipation.
Note: "Review: People who use atorvastatin to lower lipids should pay attention, understand 3 details when taking it, and know it early" The names are pseudonyms, and some pictures are network pictures; Reprinting and plagiarism are prohibited in the article)