Cholesterol-lowering Drugs May Worsen Asthma

Nearly 25 million Americans have asthma. About 68 million Americans have high cholesterol.Millions use cholesterol-lowering medications to lower cholesterol. This type of pharmaceutical treatment may help millions, but a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting in Boston found this class of drugs may worsen asthma control.Preliminary study researchers compared 20 patients with asthma taking prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication or statins, to 20 patients with asthma who did not take the cholesterol lowering drugs.  Patients taking statins had more airway inflammatory obstruction at three, six and 12 months compared to those not on statins.

"The research showed patients taking statins more frequently used their rescue medication, had increased nighttime awakenings and had increased asthma symptoms throughout the day," said allergist Safa Nsouli, MD ACAAI member and director of Danville Asthma and Allergy Clinic, Calif. "These potential effects of statins on the inflmmatory cascade of asthma indicate the need for a larger scale study."

Coordinating patient healthcare across specialties is important to optimum health.  Be certain you share all medications you are taking with each treating physician.If you have questions about your asthma treatment plan and live in the NYC area, please feel free to contact me at 866-632-5537 for a consultation. Or visit nycallergydoctor.com for more information.