Several years ago, the National Cholesterol Education Program started promoting new guidelines for cholesterol levels and the use of statin drugs to lower these levels. The recommendation for people at high risk for heart disease was LDL levels <100 mg/dl, and people at very high risk for heart disease LDL levels <70 mg/dl. These are extremely low levels and can only be reached by using high doses of statin drugs.
Dr. Duane Graveline, MD, MPH explains "On July 13, 2004, they published their recommendations for new cholesterol guidelines in Circulation of the American Heart Association. Circulation failed to disclose that six of the nine authors had direct financial ties to the makers of statin drugs. Those drugs include Pfizer's Lipitor; Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pravachol, Merck's Lovastatin, and AstraZeneca's Crestor. These guidelines immediately boosted the sales of statins from fifteen billion per year when the report was released in 2004 to over twenty-two billion in 2005. And now we come to find out there is not a shred of scientific evidence to support that lowering cholesterol in this manner will reduce cardiovascular disease.
The October 3, 2006 review in the Annals of Internal Medicine tears this "solid science" to shreds, something that should have been done two years ago. The review explains the deceitful manipulation of statistics and how not one study proves that lowering LDL cholesterol to the super low levels recommended has any benefit in reducing cardiovascular disease. Simply put, this report is shocking."
You can read more about this at Dr. Duane Graveline's website spacedoc.com.
Dr. Duane Graveline, MD, MPH explains "On July 13, 2004, they published their recommendations for new cholesterol guidelines in Circulation of the American Heart Association. Circulation failed to disclose that six of the nine authors had direct financial ties to the makers of statin drugs. Those drugs include Pfizer's Lipitor; Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pravachol, Merck's Lovastatin, and AstraZeneca's Crestor. These guidelines immediately boosted the sales of statins from fifteen billion per year when the report was released in 2004 to over twenty-two billion in 2005. And now we come to find out there is not a shred of scientific evidence to support that lowering cholesterol in this manner will reduce cardiovascular disease.
The October 3, 2006 review in the Annals of Internal Medicine tears this "solid science" to shreds, something that should have been done two years ago. The review explains the deceitful manipulation of statistics and how not one study proves that lowering LDL cholesterol to the super low levels recommended has any benefit in reducing cardiovascular disease. Simply put, this report is shocking."
You can read more about this at Dr. Duane Graveline's website spacedoc.com.
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