You mentioned during class that it's important to know why a statin drug has been prescribed (i.e. post-heart attack). In the case of post-heart attack would a statin be indicated or are there alternative herbs that could be used? I understand that high LDL levels are not necessarily a problem and may not actually need to be treated, but how would you move forward in determining what to do, herbs/no herbs, etc.? I will note that in this particular case the person is suffering from memory loss and I suspect that the statins (taken for 6 years now) are the culprit. Thank you!

Rich said: I can't really give health advice that will always be true in all cases, and ultimately it is a personal choice as well whether someone would take a particular medication or not. There are holistic MDs who use statins but in a very targeted way when they are more warranted. The evidence post-MI is much stronger for efficacy than prevention of a first MI, in addition to the evidence of efficacy being stronger for men than for women. So yes there are herbs that can be used but it would not be right to think of it as "what herbs can I use instead of statins?" As you study herbal medicine you'll learn how important reframing is. This is what David is referring to when he says there is a lot of use of medicinal herbs but not a lot of herbal medicine. The goal of the herbalist should not be to lower someone's LDL; the goal of the herbalist should be to help the person prevent a heart attack or stroke, which may or may not include an effect on LDL levels. Because this is a real person you are referring to, not an abstract question, really what needs to happen is a full consultation with a practitioner to determine what they can do. The fact that they may be suffering serious adverse effects from the statins is enough to explore alternatives for sure.