Cholesterol-lowering medications are being prescribed to almost 30% of US adults aged 40 and over, most of these are statins drugs (1). The number increases with age, and approximately 48% of adults older than 75 are receiving such treatment. It has been suggested that treating more older individuals with statins may prevent a substantial number of cardiovascular events, and that, … Read more
For decades, scientists have been trying to find out what causes heart disease. Although we have gained some knowledge along the way, many questions remain unanswered. Instead of providing clear answers, scientific research often raises a set of new issues that have to be addressed. The American physicist, Thomas S. Kuhn wrote that “to be scientific is among … Read more
When to prescribe statin therapy for people without established cardiovascular disease is a hotly debated issue among medical doctors. Recent clinical guidelines have recommended extending the use of these drugs to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. Recommendations on statin use are to a large extent based on meta-analyses on data from randomized controlled trials, either comparing statins to placebo … Read more
Recently, concerns have been raised about the increased risk of diabetes associated with statin therapy. However, it has been pointed out that the risk of diabetes is low in absolute terms and when compared with the reduction in cardiovascular events achieved by treatment. In other words, the potential benefits to health are believed to outweigh potential … Read more
Today was a big day at the annual conference of the American Heart Association in Chicago. The results of the long and eagerly awaited IMPROVE-IT trial were presented. You may think IMPROVE-IT is just another ordinary study of the efficacy of a particular cholesterol lowering drug. But it’s more than that because it tests the important and heavily debated lipid … Read more