Medical risks

[Harry Chickpea]

This article is an excellent summary of what I and others have been saying for years about statins and other "preventive" regimens. They can't even be called preventive therapies, because they are not therapeutic and in a majority of cases aren't even preventative.

http://aeon.co/magazine/health/is-pr...zine+Essays%29

Excerpt:

"Statins have succeeded in reducing both LDL cholesterol and deaths, but cardiologists have belatedly recognised that their preventive strategy was arbitrary. Patients were told to strive for a LDL target of 70 milligrams per deciliter, when there was no evidence that such a drastic reduction would prevent heart attacks and strokes. Less extreme reductions should work as well. Lisa Schwartz, a community medicine expert at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, says: ‘Selling statins was about lowering cholesterol when it should be about managing heart-attack risk.’ In other words, because it was amenable to measurement and manipulation, the risk factor became the therapeutic object and diverted attention from the complexity of cardiovascular disease."

[mekasmom]

Interesting. On a side note, I was always told that statins cause dementia. AD by another name, but actually caused by the increas in statin use??????

https://www.google.com/search?q=stat...m=122&ie=UTF-8

[1shotwade]

Well, now at least I have an excuse! LOL

Wade

[Grandmotherbear]

Stations, even red rice yeast, causes me agony. I have stations listed as an allergy on my medical documents.

[Harry Chickpea]

Originally Posted by mekasmom

Interesting. On a side note, I was always told that statins cause dementia. AD by another name, but actually caused by the increas in statin use??????

https://www.google.com/search?q=stat...m=122&ie=UTF-8

There are some effects of statins that are documented - increased cataract formation in women taking statins over those not taking them is one statistic that appears valid. Dementia linking may be a valid link in some cases, but conditions concurrent to statin use may account for many of those with dementia. Specifically, with clogging arteries and/or failing heart there may be insufficient blood flow to the brain.

Understanding and balancing risks, costs, side-effects and lifestyle changes is fairly simple, but takes some digging and a willingness to prioritize.

It is absolutely possible to be TOO careful. I like to use radon gas as an example. Try to find a documented case of radon being the sole cause of cancer in a person and you will be hard pressed. Statistically, there is good evidence that it can be contributory to cancer, but much of that is related to smokers and miners. The over-reaction to naturally occurring radon has spread and mandated enough excess protection that (again statistically) the increased levels of energy use and dangers accompanying the installation and care of the equipment is likely to have caused MORE death and disease than the radon.

As people age, the chances of dying increase; perversely the individual risks of contracting certain diseases goes down. Exposing children to strong mutagenic chemicals is not a good idea. Someone over the age of 50 or 60 might handle them and have no ill effect, because the time for anything to develop could be longer than any expected lifespan.

Anyway, I digress. I just found the article to be a pretty good summary.

[haley1]

"Hardening of the arteries" is generally buildup of calcium and the cholesterol just comes along to put on a protective coating over the calcium so cholesterol is not as bad as it is made out to be. To reduce calcium buildup doctors could put people on magnesium to balance out the calcium magnesium ratio so the body can correctly put the calcium whee it I supposed to be in the body...... but magnisium can not be patented for proffit.

On big side effect of statins is padding of corporations pocketbooks