Cholesterol and Statins
Initiatives in both the US and the UK look set to vastly increase the number of people deemed eligible for treatment with statins. While some seem to have welcomed these moves, there has been a lot of dissent too. Some believe that statins already have an unfavourable risk/benefit profile for people judged to be at […]
Cholesterol and Statins
A couple of weeks ago one of my blog posts focused on a news story regarding the safety of statins. We were informed that ‘new evidence’ had found, except in rare circumstances, statins are no more hazardous than placebos. Yet, when one pays to get access to the actual paper on which these ‘conclusions’ were […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Listen to most ‘key opinion leaders’ talk about statins and you will hear soothing reassurances about their safety. Yet, my experience as a doctor suggests that adverse effects such as fatigue and muscle pain occur more commonly than ‘official statistics’ suggest. However, a study published this week claims to provide evidence that, for the most part, […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Recently, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK published a consultation document in which it suggests that the threshold for treating people with statins should be lowered. Currently, doctors are advised to consider treatment for individuals who are calculated to have 20 per cent or more risk of developing cardiovascular disease […]
Cholesterol and Statins
On both sides of the Atlantic moves are afoot which will mean that many more individuals will be considered as good candidates for statin therapy. This will inevitably mean that more individuals are going to have the prospect of statin therapy raised by their doctors. In this situation, doctors can talk about ‘guidelines’ and ‘protocols’, […]
Cholesterol and Statins
Yesterday, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published draft proposals concerning the use of statins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Previously, NICE advised doctors to recommend treatment in those with a calculated 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease of 20 per cent or more. Now, NICE is proposing that this threshold will […]
Cholesterol and Statins
The ‘Cochrane Collaboration’ is an international collective of researchers whose self-proclaimed role is to provide accurate and robust assessments of health interventions. The group specialises in ‘meta-analyses’: the grouping together of several similar studies on interventions including drug therapies. In 2011, Cochrane researchers assessed the evidence relating to statin use in individuals at low risk […]
Cholesterol and Statins
From a purely physiological perspective, the heart is essentially a bag of muscle that pumps blood around the body. In certain circumstances, the heart’s pumping action can weaken, ultimately resulting in what is usually termed ‘heart failure’. Symptoms of this can include fatigue, breathlessness and fluid retention. I was interested in a study recently published […]
Cholesterol and Statins
A recent from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has found that rates of statin prescription in the UK are the highest in Europe, and second only to Australia on a world-wide basis. Some have criticised the widespread prescribing of statins, and a common criticism here is that it fails to deal with the […]
Cholesterol and Statins
One of the more positive developments around statins of late, I think, has been the increasing awareness of the sorts of health issues they can induce. It is now becoming much more recognised, for instance, that these drugs can impact on mental functioning, including memory. Back in 2012, the FDA in the US issued a […]