Is there such a medicine that reduces existing build up? Does diet reduce build up? Exercise?
If you are taking Crestor, does it lessen plaque build up or just keep you from getting new build up?
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No, no Statin does. All they do is help lower blood cholesterol and prevent further build up of atheroma. No medication will remove existing build up in ther arteries.
Again, eating a healthy diet (low in saturated fats) and exercise (which will raise HDL) will prevent further build up, it will have no effect of the existing build up.
There is a new therapy in the pipelines called Chelation, it basically aims to to flush out or dissolve existing build up. It’s used in the US already. There are a number of private clinics offering this therapy in the UK. Some GPs have tried to refer patients for it, but the local heath authorities usually won’t approve it.
The Department of Health’s stance is that they support the programme of UK clinical trials but want to wait for the results of the clinical trials before reaching a final conclusion with regards to safety and other long term success factors.
Can you reverse damage done to your arteries by excessive fat? If you are already past 30, it naturally occurs to you to wonder whether the damage done to your arteries is permanent, or whether it is reversible. At the present stage of research, doctors cannot answer the question with certainty. Experiments with animals have shown that the condition is reversible in animals.
We have evidence that the cholesterol in the arteries is absorbed in children, as shown by Dr. Russell Holman and others. However, this metabolic gift seems to be lost as we grow up. There are many authorities in the field who do believe that since atherosclerosis is reversible in animals, it can also be eliminated even after it is established in humans as well.
I am on Crestor and was told by my doctor that it should prevent further build up and raise my HDL. Diet and exercise will help prevent further buildup. Before I went on Crestor I dropped my LDL number by 20 in three months by diet alone. I was mainly put on Crestor to raise my HDL.