CRESTOR AND STATINS DO NOT PREVENT HEART DISEASE

You  may  have  seen  or  heard  the  ads  on  radio and TV...  If your diet and exercise  program  is  not working and your doctor wants to drastically  lower your cholesterol  level,  try  Crestor.  The  drug  company  proudly  advertises  that  its  cholesterol  (statin) drug  has  been  shown  to  reduce  LDL  cholesterol levels by 62% vs 7% (by placebo).



On the "Do Not Take This Drug" List

Sounds really great.  But here is what the ads do not state:  the statin  ding Crestor is very dangerous. While  all  statins  are  dangerous,  Crestor  is  a  very high-dose statin.  Worst Pills Best Pills  from  Sidney Wolfe,  MD,  and  Public  Citizen's  Health  Research Group  have  placed  it  on  their  "do  not take this drug"  list.  They  even  recommend  a  special  Drug Warning Insert  for this  statin  and  would  feel  best if it were taken off the market.

Statins  impair your  liver's  ability  to  produce cholesterol-a  critical  element  for  good  health. And the side  effects  are many  and varied-some very serious.

 But  if you  want  to  prevent  a  heart  attack  or heart  disease...  If you  have  already  had  a  heart attack and  want to  do  everything you  can  to  prevent  another...  If heart  disease  and heart  attacks are in your family. . .  Or if your doctor has you just plain  scared  out  of your mind. ..  Then  you  would probably figure that it is  worth  it to run the risk of serious side effects to get your cholesterol down in order  to  prevent  heart  disease  or  a  heart  attack. Except for one thing.

Even the Labels Reveal the Truth                                                      

The  ads  and  labels  on  Crestor,  Lipitor,  and  the rest clearly  state:  "not proven  to prevent heart disease  or  heart  attacks."  Forget  proven---it  even states that it is "not shown to prevent heart disease or heart attacks."  Considering  that the  companies making these  drugs  are  doing  everything  in  their power to  prove  that statins  do  prevent heart disease, this is a telling disclaimer.

So  is  rolling  the dice and  possibly  feeling miserable  with  increased  aches  and  pains,  risking heart failure,  encouraging hormone problems`  and more  worth  it? You  will  satisfy  your doctor. You will  add  to  drug  company  profits.  And  you  will join  in  one  of the  world's  most  successful  marketing ploys-tens  of millions  of heart  disease minded  people  and their doctors,  spending billions of dollars each year, for a drug that according to its own  manufacturer fails  to  prevent heart disease or heart attacks. Now that's marketing!

When  presented  with  this  information,  your doctor will  think  you  are  crazy.  You  will  be  told that these  drugs  have been  scientifically proven.  If this were true, would the disclaimer "not proven to prevent heart disease  or heart  attacks"  be  clearly displayed?!
Health Alert Dr Bruce West volume 23 Issue 2
 (Never mind these disclaimers are buried in pages of really, really, really small print.)

NEWS FLASH: DO CHOLESTEROL  DRUGS SAVE LIVES?

Well,  if a doctor uses  a defibrillator on  a man having  a heart attack and  helps  him  regain  a normal  heartbeat,  he  or she has  saved his  life,  right? For that moment,  yes.  But what if the man  dies next week of another heart attack?  Although  always taken for granted, heart care and heart drugs rarely save lives. They extend some lives,  but at a large cost because of the serious  side effects  from the drugs.  In contrast,  some lives  are shortened by the care itself.

Oncologists  admit in  a medically  uncommon moment of humility  that their drugs  rarely  cure cancer.  They  zap  tumors,  but  the  cancer  comes back.  And  so  it is  with heart care as  the bypasses reclog,  the drugs  add  some months  or even  years but  can  lead  to  eventual  heart  failure,  the  cholesterol  really wasn't a problem  at  all,  and so  on. But to  hear all  the talk,  you  would  think lives  are saved every second.  This  hype is  accomplished by statistical  sleight  of hand,  distortion  of clinical results,  and bogus  "scientific"  research. Think this is an exaggeration? Read on  …

Statin Therapy (Cholesterol Lowering Drug)

The  entire  concept  of doctors  and  drugs  "saving lives" in the world of heart care is totally misleading.  Heart docs  need to  take the same road as the  oncologists  (cancer  docs),  finally  admitting that they  are not saving  lives, but they  may  be extending lives~a little.  The oncologists  only  manage to increase the median survival (often for not more than  a few months). Bur the heart docs  "save lives" How can this be?

The front page, of the, Heart Protection Study (HPS) boldly states that "tens of thousands of lives could be saved each year by changing prescribing guidelines  for statins  [mostly  increasing the number of patients  and dose of drugs]."  Sounds  pretty good especially because it implies  that everyone who begins taking the drugs will be saved and live a long, normal life.

This,  of course,  is  a hoax.  The  drug,  at best, may give the patient a little extra time,  but at what cost in side effects. What the front page should say to  be honest  is  that "tens  of thousands  of people may have their lives extended minimally-maybe six months-by using statins. And that only occurs statistically  if  you  treat  more than one million  people !."

So  why  doesn't the  HPS  front page just  say this? I know you don't need the answer, but here it is  anyway.  Compare the  exciting  and remarkable idea  of "saving  lives"  to  the  truthful  concept  of merely delaying the progression  of a disease for a short time at a big cost in serious side effects.  The truth is amazingly less wonderful.
                                                                                                 
 

You  find out from your doctor that your cholesterol is high.  He  or  she  could  tell you the  truth-that  cholesterol  has  little  if nothing  to do  with  heart  disease,  heart  attack,  or  stroke.  And he  or she  could  advise  you  to  improve  your  diet,  start  exercising,  and  (dare  I  say)  use  some  supplements.  Or. you  are  told  you  could  go  on  a  statin (cholesterol-lowering)  drug  daily  for  the  rest  of your  life.  This  drug  could make  you  feel  lousy,  sap the  strength  from  your-  legs,  possibly  cause  neuropathy  and  memory  problems,  potentially  cause liver-damage,  and  even  kill  you.  But you  will  have your life extended by a  few days to a few months.

This scenario  would  be  intellectually  honest. I  think  we  can  all  agree  that  the  pharmaceutical industry  is  not  about to  stand  for  this.  So the  charade  continues  in  the  guise  of "science."  But  what the  heck,   it  keeps   the  economy  rolling,   and   it insures  job security   for  researchers  and  clinicians like  myself,  Malcolm   Kendrick,  MD.  (some  of. whose   material   I   have  used  in   this article).   and thousands  of others.  Special   thanks  to   Dr.   Kendrick.  a  GP  and  cholesterol  skeptic.  Dr.  Kendrick practices in  a town  outside of Manchester, UK.
Health Alert volume 21 issue 11 Dr Bruce West MD

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