I'm a competitive age-group athlete (52) who eats a healthy diet. My cholesterol readings have increased as I've aged. My overall cholesterol is now 191 and my LDLs are over 100, with HDLs around 70. My doctor recommends statins. Are there any studies of the effects of statins on athletic performance?
Hi Bmcneil,
Here are the recommendations of the American Heart Association:
Total cholesterol less than 200
HDL cholesterol at least > 40, ideally > 60
LDL cholesterol at least less than 130, ideally less than 100
Triglycerides less than 150
According to the above guidelines your levels are not elevated. You may benefit from an expanded lipid profile to look at your LDL particle sizes to determine if they are dangerous or not, such as the Lipoprotein Particle Panel through SpectraCell Labs. You could discuss this further with your physician.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps
I am a 67 yr old age group athlete who had a horrible experience on statins. Muscle knots and extreme cramping, my doctor and cardioligist both treated me in a condesending manner. Syptoms ceased when I stopped taking statins. You might want to check out Dr Davis at this website, I am currently following his guidelines.
Tom,
i am a 58 year old age group athlete - road races until early 2008 & then included sprint tris. Been on statins since around July 2004 - leg pain over the last several months increasing - started with calf & foot cramps in one leg - then in both & now in hams & even quads will get into the act. Not healing well from runs - even some calf & leg pain when swimming!! Stopped the statin [prevastatin] 3 weeks ago today. the cramping is mostly gone but the pain is still there in both legs [calves & hams] & some 'twinges' in hips. Icing a lot, on aleve & tylenol. Seeing my cardio doc today for semi-annual followup - he doesn't know i stopped the statin - not gonna be happy about it but too bad! how long before you were back to 'normal'. We all live with a certain amount of ache because of our sport - but how long before you were back to what you would consider normal for you? Thanks for your post. :-)
statin induced myopothy is becomming recognised as a metabolic disorder of the mitochondria. rarely do athletes tolerate statins (google athletes and statins). It is believed that in many people statins cause mutations of the mitochondrial dna and recent research done at UCSD indicates that 63% of those who are affected DO NOT recover. I would suggest that you have your creatine kinase level checked 24 hours after a race to see if it is elavated greatly. In any case taking CoQ-10 has been benificial for some and I (as a statin victim) have seen some improvement in recovery time by taking an ATP suppliment. I take an enteric ATP suppliment at bed time and a sublingual ATP suppliment following physical activity. also be aware that joint pain 24-36 hours after physical activity is also indicative of severe mitochondrial myopothy, if you suffer from both you should probably stop completely for 2-3 months to recover as continuing to race may in fact lead to further damage to the mitochondria.
If you find you are not recovering I suggest you visit the following site for further information and a forum of long term statin victims:
oh and one more thing I was originally on statins from 2000 until 2005 and it took me 18 months of reduced physical activity to recover to about 80%. unfortunately I allowed myself to be talked into lipid lowering 6 months later and within 5 weeks was so bad I could no longer work. that was over three years ago and it's now clear that I'm probably not going to recover....be vary wary of any attempt to lower your cholesterol ever again should you recover.
Important:
We hope you find this general health information helpful. Please note however, that this Q&A is meant to support not replace the professional medical advice you receive from your doctor. No information in the Answers above is intended to diagnose or treat any condition. The views expressed in the Answers above belong to the individuals who posted them and do not necessarily reflect the views of Remedy Health Media. Remedy Health Media does not review or edit content posted by our community members, but reserves the right to remove any material it deems inappropriate.
Featuring Content From:
By using this service, you accept our Terms of Use. Please read them. The consumer health information on is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. You should promptly seek professional medical care if you have any concern about your health, and you should always consult your physician before starting a fitness regimen. Copyright © 2012 Remedy Health Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Yes, we did a follow-up. The results came back and the particle size of the LDL is very large, which is good. There are some elevated lipid-levels that he said are not caused by nor are they amenible to dietary changes; they're hereditary. He's prescribed fenofibrate with a follow-up in six months.