The Truth About Statins: Risks and Alternatives to Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs Mass Market Paperback – April 24, 2012

I read this and gave one to a friend. This Dr. explains how the drug companies manipulate the studies . Extensive research done here not everyone is a candidate for lipid medications. Wow I never knew their were so many side effects.

I must admit to being a bit of a crank when it comes to statin drugs. Whenever I was on them, I would experience muscle aches, but they weren't severe and I put that down to minor hypochondria on my part. But I became suspicious when I went off them at one point and experienced a small but significant weight loss. And then, when I went back on them, the weight came right back. Research into the subject of statins included this book, which is a real eye-opener.Dr. Roberts is not some New Age internet guru. She is a respected physician and teacher, the head of a Women's Cardiovascular Institute in Providence, RI. She is affiliated with Brown University. Her book is a clear-eyed look at the history and science of statins. What we learn from her book is that the glossy image of statin drugs is the result of voodoo mathematics and heavy-duty marketing.Voodoo mathematics? Well, to oversimplify, statistics can be manipulated to create the impression you want to create. For instance, if I were to say to you that Drug A will decrease your chance of dying of a heart attack by 30%, you'd say "Wow! A wonder drug! My chances of dying are decreased by 30%!" Who wouldn't want to take that drug, right? But if your chances of dying from a heart attack were only 1% to begin with, then your survival rate improvement is not 30% actually, it's more like one third of one percent. So how important is that one third of one percent when measured against the cost and potential health issues of taking a drug for the rest of your life? And the material gets really interesting when discussing women's health. Dr. Roberts provides evidence that not only do statins provide no protection to otherwise healthy women (with no comorbities to elevated cholesterol), but can actually be dangerous.Marketing: that's where things get really evil. I remember reading a statement by a pharmaceutical marketing executive. He noted that they didn't have a problem getting sick people to take their drugs and that success would be achieved when healthy people relied on their drugs. According to Dr. Roberts' analysis, statins are a perfect example of how pharmaceutical marketing creates just that situation where we now have doctors suggesting that, for instance, we should put statins in the water supply. She tells a compelling story of how doctors--some of them well-intentioned and others, not so much--have been co-opted by pharmaceutical companies into pushing drugs of dubious value and some real danger.If you are at all interested in the subject of statins, then this book is a must read and a great starting point for further research.

I just wrote a review on another book which helped me convince my doctor that I did not need statin drugs to lower my cholesterol level. That book was "Fat and Cholesterol Don't Cause Heart Attacks," and is a great source of information regarding the number of ongoing medical studies regarding cholesterol, disproving that fat and cholesterol don't cause heart attacks; sugar and processed foods do! Also look up books by Dr. Robert Lustig for more on that topic.As I mentioned in my other book review, my blood pressure was high and for a number of years has been increasing to the point where my readings were 180-110, so you can see why doctors wanted to prescribe statin drugs to artificially lower my blood pressure. I did a change in lifestyle [diet and exercise] and within a few months, my med test results all came back normal or below the midpoint on each, except for cholesterol. [Read the book I reference above]. Researching my problem with high blood pressure, I came across a number of studies, several books, and this particular book as this particular doctor was involved in several of the studies that in effect debunked cholesterol as a danger to you as well as what statin drugs do and don't do for you. Yes, statin drugs will lower your cholesterol, taking 24 biological stopping processes to get to that point, but along the way, will create a host of other medical problems for you! The book describes in detail what these illness are that can be caused by taking statin drugs.The reduction in my blood pressure did not result from a change in my diet; it was the fact that I was now exercising regularly and not lightly, mind you. Twice a week I did and still do high intensity interval training, which only took 16 minutes per session, and this is what caused my blood pressure to decline dramatically. High intensity interval training [HIIT] allows the body to produce nitric oxide, which the body manufactures but only at extreme levels of physical intensity. The purpose of nitric oxide is to relax the arteries in order for the blood to flow easier as your physical exercise demands high levels of oxygen before going anaerobic, that is, without oxygen. Your body normally produces nitric oxide, however as we age, our physical activity declines or stops, and all of a sudden, we start aging. HIIT assists in the body producing nitric oxide, and thus, reduce high blood pressure! You can also look up books on HIIT to help you, and no, you are never too old to start, as I am evidence of that.My conclusion is that the medical profession is enslaved to the pharmaceutical industry, aided by the FDA which do nothing to help the people, except to enrich the food, drug, and medical industries. We need to do our own research to protect ourselves against selfish industries who look at us a cash cows.

The author is a well qualified to make sense of the research that has been done on the benefits and risks of statins, and provides a balanced overview. Her emphasis on the relatively greater risks for women of using statins does not eclipse the warnings that apply to males as well. Perhaps her greatest contribution, however, is the detailed exposure of the degree to which Big Pharma dominates the research and product approval. If anyone truly believes that the medical profession is not corrupted by all the favors lavished on them by pharmaceutical companies, they are deeply self-deluded! I, for one, have witnessed this phenomenon over many years of professional experience... practices that would be regarded criminal conduct inside the beltway! I wonder how much of the pressure to cut public funding for basic research through NIH has been driven by the enormously powerful pharmaceutical lobby.

If you take statins prescribed by your physician this is a must read. It is written by doctors who think people should know everything about statins. I haven’t told my doctor I read it, but I did convince her to agree with me to stop my statin. Everyone’s health is different so you have weigh the good and the bad of your statin with your doctor as I did.