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Dr. Shani Saks
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VIDEO: Dr. Saks - Statins, What Are The Risks And Benefits?

Dr. Saks shares the risks and benefits for women taking statins, a cholesterol lowering medication.

Dr. Saks:
The statins are a group of cholesterol-lowering medications that millions of Americans are on and typically include Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, Simvastatin, and as a group we call them the statins. They have been proven very effective at lowering the bad cholesterol and lowering a patient’s chance of having a heart disease or a heart attack.

The problem is a lot of people, or a fair amount of people, cannot tolerate them and get some of the side effects such as muscle-aching, that’s a very common one, fatigue, or when we do blood work on their liver, their liver tests are elevated and not normal. Anyone on a statin drug should have their liver test checked, usually about every four months or so, and if the numbers are rising, your doctor may want to stop the medication.

But in general, if a patient has very high cholesterol or has had a heart attack in the past or very strong family history, they would benefit from a statin drug.

About Dr. Saks, D.O.:
Dr. Shani S. Saks joined the Arizona Heart Institute in September 2005, following a three-year invasive cardiology fellowship at the Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. Prior to entering medical school, Dr. Saks completed her undergraduate and Master of Science degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan where she graduated Cum Laude. She received her medical degree from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in East Lansing, Michigan. Dr. Saks continued her medical education by completing an internal medicine residency at the Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital, where she served as Chief Medicine Resident. Dr. Saks is a Certified Internist by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners. Due to significant and premature heart disease in her own family, Dr. Saks has a strong commitment to patient education, reducing risk of heart disease, preventative medicine and women’s health. Dr. Saks provides services at the Arizona Heart Institute location in central Phoenix.

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