Cholesterol Warning – Medical Misinformation in Major Media – Part One
February 18, 2015
Cholesterol Warning – Medical Misinformation in Major Media – Part One
Dear reader,
The international press is presenting the results of a new study on cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) the wrong way. It was published November 25, 2014 in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine Reference [1].
This study, according to the general media twisting this information, found that almost all of those 66 to 75 years should take statins drugs to reduce cardiac risk.
Here are some examples taken at random:
“Statins were chosen because their use has resulted in the greatest benefit and the lowest rates of safety issues,” said Neil J. Stone, MD.” [2]
“Among older adults, those aged 60 to 75 years old, 87.4% of men would now be eligible for the lipid-lowering medication, which is up from one-third under the old Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III guidelines.” [3]
I will show you that this is a misrepresentation of the study’s conclusions.
Misrepresentation of study’s conclusions
The study was led by a researcher at the Heart Institute of Minneapolis, the cardiologist Dr. Michael Miedema.
Its subject are the new the recommendations (or guidelines) on the use of statins issued by the American Heart Association (American Heart Association) in 2013 [4].
These recommendations are controversial as many doctors and researchers consider them excessive. They may lead some doctors to place their clients (that are perfectly healthy) on these drugs.
Indeed, the American Heart Association strongly lowered the cardiac risk level at which it recommends medication against cholesterol.
It now recommends that cholesterol-lowering drugs be given to all people with a risk level of heart attack or stroke over 7.5% in the next 10 years, as well as diabetics, smokers and people with high cholesterol.
That would automatically lead doctors to recommend these drugs to a much larger number of elderly people.
This number is so high that even Dr. Miedema and his team wondered how many Americans were now concerned.
They note in their study:
“(…) the 7.5% of cardiovascular risk at which the recommendation was defined treatment is aggressive, creating an almost universal treatment recommendations for individuals aged 65-75 years.” [5]
The study was therefore created to calculate the risk of death from heart disease over the next 10 years in 6,000 black and white Americans between 66 and 90 years.
And the study’s conclusion is telling:
“If we follow the American Heart Association’s recommendations, more than 97% of people between 66 and 75 years fall into the categories “at risk” and therefore risk treatment recommendation.”
This is exactly what the study’s authors point, noting that:
“The effects of these new recommendations for the elderly are important because they have a high risk of cardiovascular disease but they may also suffer the adverse side effects of statin use” [6]
In my view, after careful reading of the study, it is clear that Dr. Miedema and his team believe that the American Heart Association treatment guidelines are excessive.
They have not at all tried to prove that all seniors should take statins!
Especially since they know full well that this risk calculation (7.5%) is not only highly questionable (a ridiculous limit for a sound scientist), it is also disputed, even rejected by many experts, including Americans. [7]
The media interpreted the study backwards
Ironically, the world’s media have taken on this study to proclaim that it was now proven that nearly 100% of the elderly should take statins drugs against cholesterol.
Yet it is a completely backwards interpretation.
Dr. Miedema was careful to clarify to the press that, according to his study, there was “no conclusion to be drawn about the effectiveness of statins for the elderly.” [8].
Nothing yet has proven that this communication process was orchestrated by the pharmaceutical lobby.
However, it is absolutely clear that the way the information was interpreted by the media does not match the logical conclusions of the study, even less so to the interpretation that responsible medical practitioners could make for their patients.
Statin drugs side effects
Millions of Americans take statin drugs daily to help lower their cholesterol. These drugs are now one of the most popular classes of prescription drugs on the market today. Often times, taking these drugs are not always necessary. The average patient could lower their LDL (bad) cholesterol levels simply by changing their diet and lifestyle.
While statins can help millions by reducing heart attacks, strokes and overall cardiac mortality but there can be painful side effects in taking them. Unfortunately, these drugs also stop our body from manufacturing of important nutrients like CoQ10, which is known be necessary for heart health. According to the Physicians’ Desk Reference, side effects of this class of drugs can be debilitating muscle pain, kidney damage, liver problems, myositis (muscles inflammation), memory loss, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headaches and skin rash.
Recently, statin drugs have been linked to breast and prostate cancer. [10] In other news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new labeling guidelines for statin drugs warning users that these medications can cause memory loss, elevated blood sugar levels, and type-2 diabetes. [11]
Next week, I will tell you why extremely low cholesterol is bad for you, why cholesterol is necessary to our body’s health, and give you practical ideas on how to lower your cholesterol with food and nutrition.
A Votre Sante – To Your Health
Chef Alain Braux
Sources :
[2] Making Sense of New Cholesterol Advice
[3] New Guidelines Extend Statins to 13M More Americans
[4] Drug Therapy for Cholesterol
[5] “The 7,5 % CVD risk threshold is aggressive, creating a nearly universal recommendation for statin use in individuals aged 65 to 75 years”.
[6] « The effect of the new guidelines on older individuals is important because they are at high risk for CVD but also may be prone to the adverse effects of statin use ».
[8] Statins may Lower Risk of Heart Disease for Most Seniors: Study
[9] Statins : the world market 2010-2015
[10] Women who take statin drugs have 83-143% increased risk of breast cancer and see study on GreenMedInfo.
[11] FDA admits statin drugs cause diabetes, memory loss and FDA site here.
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