congratulations! it sounds like you are doing an excellent job with your lifestyle changes. diet and exercise are the cornerstones of treating both heart disease and diabetes. but at the same time there are many studies that show that taking statins after a heart attack can actually help prevent future heart attacks as well. a major study called the care trial showed that people who were on statins for at least 5 years after a heart attack were less likely to need further procedures such as bypass surgery or stents. they were also less likely to die from heart disease. statins can help keep plaque from building up in the arteries including those around the heart. in some cases they can actually cause a regression of the plaque. a statin may also help stabilize this plaque so that it is less likely to break and cause a blood clot. a blood clot in an artery on the heart wall is what causes most heart attacks. it is very important that you work closely with your doctor. your lipid levels and other risk factors should continue to be carefully monitored. talk to your doctor about any concerns you have about your medications. working together you will be able to come up with a long term treatment plan that is right for you. keep up the great work! i have peripheral artery disease. i got it in my late 40s due to blood coagulation problem. i also had very high cholesterol (over 300+ my entire life). i had difficulty walking by age 50. i put myself on high dose nattokinase and serrapeptase and the symptoms disappeared within 6 weeks. you will know it is working within 1 month. i eat as much cholesterol as i want. i have been on this over 6 years. i am on maintenance dose. just experiment with dosage over time to get the minimum dose and cost. please be aware that conventional medicine perpetuates lies about cholesterol. just take the time to look at the studies. if the arteries are clean enough you won't have heart disease. ignore the cholesterol propaganda. they have nattokinase made from bacteria and fungus with and without vitamin k. both work but i prefer the nattokinase with vitamin k. without vitamin k is for people on prescriptions drugs. i take best nattokinase and serrapeptase. i buy from swanson vitamin because they are cheap. ii'm amazed they don't have heart disease category for this. chinese have done thousands of studies on effectiveness of fibrolytic enzymes for heart attack and stroke prevention.
i had a heart attack 1 year ago how long can i expect to carry on taking statins and is there an alternative. i am a 64 year old male who was diagnosed at the same time as a type 2 diabetic which i now control with my diet and change of lifestyle and no longer take the medication. i have a bmi of 22. 4 after losing 27 kilos and i exercise daily.