Cholesterol Drugs: New Studies Could Spur Even Wider Use. Is That a Good Thing?

By STEVEN FINDLAY Chances are that a third of you reading this sentence take a statin, the ubiquitous cholesterol-lowering drugs. I do. Is it a good or bad thing that so many of us are taking these meds? Two studies out this month advance the long-running debate about the widespread use of statins—and they could propel doctors to prescribe the drugs to millions more people. The cholesterol/statin story starts in the early 1980s. Here’s a quick summary: By 1985, studies showed conclusively that statins (the best known one then was Mevacor/lovastatin) substantially reduced the risk of another heart attack in people who had already had one. Into the 1990s, further research found that people who were at high risk of a heart attack (smokers, overweight, diabetes, family history, etc.) but who had not yet had a heart attack also benefited from taking statins, in terms of a reduced risk of both fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and strokes. The pinpointed mechanism: statins reduced the levels in the blood of so-called “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol). Levels of LDL and total cholesterol were linked to dietary intake of high fat and cholesterol-rich foods such as meat, eggs, and high fat dairy products. All this led to broad public health advice to get your blood cholesterol levels checked regularly, lower the amount of fat and cholesterol in your diet, and exercise regularly. A whole generation paid attention. These developments also trigger...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: THCB LDl Lipitor Statins Steven Findlay Source Type: blogs