Because Good Medicine Deserves Better Explanations
A young life, unraveled by a rare reaction to a common drug — and what it reveals about statins, mitochondria, and the quiet risks medicine often overlooks. Christopher Wunsch was 29 — healthy, ambitious, and thriving in a career he loved. As a critical care nurse, he knew the stakes of cardiovascular disease. So when … Read more
He wasn’t exactly a poster child for heart health. He loved steak, hated vegetables, and didn’t care much for doctors. His LDL-cholesterol hovered around 200 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L) for most of his adult life. Yet, at age 88, his arteries were clean—and his mind sharper than ever. Meanwhile, his neighbor—an avid cyclist with “perfect” cholesterol—underwent … Read more
Statin drugs play an important role in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and have been shown to improve the prognosis of patients with established atherosclerotic heart disease. Statins, however, are not without side effects, and 7 to 29% of patients report adverse musculoskeletal effects that limit their ability to use them as recommended by clinical … Read more
Recent scientific evidence shows that the blood concentration of lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is an important marker for the risk of developing heart disease. Nonetheless, Lp(a) measurements are not widely available and are seldom used in routine clinical practice. A traditional lipid panel measures total cholesterol, triglycerides,and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) The numbers are then used to … Read more
There are several reasons why we should be interested in the amount of cholesterol circulating in our bloodstream. However, to interpret our cholesterol numbers, we have to know certain things about cholesterol and its role in health and disease. What Is Cholesterol? Cholesterol is classified as a sterol (a combination of steroid and alcohol) and … Read more