My GP desires me to go on statins – can I say no? Ask GP DR MARTIN SCURR

I’m slim, eat healthily and train repeatedly. But my ldl cholesterol has gone as much as 6.1, and the GP tells me I’ve a 14 per cent likelihood of getting a stroke or coronary heart assault inside the subsequent ten years. They’re pushing me to take statins. As my threat is low, is it actually obligatory?

My husband took statins and so they gave him muscle ache. I’ve fibromyalgia and I don’t need any extra ache.

Sandra McKinnon, Watford, Herts.

You’ve clearly been assessed utilizing the QRisk3 calculator; this entails coming into knowledge a few affected person — comparable to age, intercourse, ethnicity, blood strain and weight — after which an alogorithm calculates the possibilities of having a coronary heart assault or stroke inside the following ten years.

At 14 per cent, your threat is reasonable, and the rules recommends that folks with a rating of ten or extra must be supplied cholesterol-lowering treatment — i.e. statins.

In my view, at your threat stage the choice on whether or not you’re taking a statin (which normally continues for all times) depends upon balancing your opinion in regards to the potential side-effects in opposition to the well-established advantages.

Part of this resolution could embody fascinated with the opposite choices that may assist cut back your threat.

The pointers recommends that folks with a rating of ten or extra on the the QRisk3 calculator must be supplied cholesterol-lowering treatment

For those that are obese, as an illustration, it helps to shed extra pounds. In addition, every day bodily train; a Mediterranean-type weight-reduction plan (decreasing animal fats consumption, and consuming loads of pulses, fruit, greens, wholegrains, nuts and olive oil); common sleep sample; quitting smoking; and meditation have all been proven to cut back levels of cholesterol independently of taking treatment.

Your letter prompted me to calculate my very own threat share and I used to be astonished to seek out that it’s 10.2, somewhat greater than I anticipated.

You regard 14 per cent as low threat, but I really feel that my 10.2 per cent appears somewhat excessive; certainly, if I went to sleep tonight with a ten.2 per cent likelihood of successful EuroMillions on tonight’s draw, I might go to mattress somewhat excited!

I personally do take a statin, however be reassured, you can’t be compelled to take one, and also you do produce other choices.

Is my visible disturbances related to fall I had virtually a yr in the past?

Almost a yr in the past I fell and lower my head on a metallic submit field. The wound web site was simply above the entrance hairline. I used to be stitched up in A&E with 13 sutures and had a scan. All unremarkable.

However, a yr on there nonetheless appears to be residual blood seeping all the way down to the attention cavities — showing as darkish circles beneath my eyes and a level of ‘lumpiness’ on my brow. On two events not too long ago I’ve had visible disturbance in my left eye. Could these be related?

Jackie Godfrey, London.

A head harm comparable to you describe may end up in numerous bleeding and may cut up one of many veins just below the pores and skin.

There may be very little fats — which implies little or no cushioning — beneath the pores and skin of the scalp, and so whereas the impression didn’t fracture your cranium, the blood vessels are much less protected than elsewhere within the physique.

This means it’s probably {that a} vital quantity of blood collected between the pores and skin and the bone — what we name a hematoma.

These will be fairly giant, however over time, the physique’s restore mechanisms can have lowered the mass of clotted blood; months later, what stays in your case is a scar-like lump beneath the stitches that can most likely by no means resolve fully.

And as you’ve surmised, the remnants of the blood have slowly made their means out round every eye socket.

My feeling is that at this late stage, your visible disturbances are unlikely to be associated to the lower on the top.

I might advise you to seek the advice of an optician and have your eyes examined.

It may very well be that you’ve a retraction of the vitreous gel within the rear chamber of the attention, or there’s another reason for the signs.

Write to Dr Scurr at Good Health, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London, W8 5HY or e-mail: [email protected]. Dr Scurr can not enter into private correspondence. Consult your personal GP with any well being issues.

We want dietitians basically apply

One answer to the disaster in major care can be to develop the function of assist employees, comparable to physiotherapists, pharmacists, psychologists and apply nurses.

Amazingly, there’s truly cash obtainable for additional employees, following the introduction of major care networks, which deliver collectively GPs and different well being professionals to deal with persistent illness, using completely different professions below the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.

Oddly dietitians don’t appear to be concerned, which is shocking given the escalating incidence of kind 2 diabetes and weight problems.

I declare an curiosity — I’m married to a dietitian, but when we’re to cut back strain on GPs and the variety of sufferers combating persistent illness, using a dietitian in each apply appears an apparent step.

Why has no one considered this?