Why the study?
Cardiovascular disease improvements have plateaued, and emerging research questions the usefulness and safety of lipid-lowering drugs in primary care.
Do lipid-lowering drugs reduce the incidence or prevalence of cardiovascular disease in primary prevention?
Do lipid-lowering drugs reduce the incidence or prevalence of cardiovascular disease in primary prevention?
This review challenges the established medical paradigm of using lipid-lowering drugs for primary CVD prevention, advocating instead for lifestyle modifications and reduced sugar intake.
Does not support changing lipid-lowering use in primary prevention; leaves open sugar as dominant CVD driver pending higher-level evidence.
After decades of improvement in the outlook for cardiovascular disease (CVD), we are now seeing a plateau. Statins, once believed to be the most important advance in the fight against heart disease, have not mitigated the incidence or prevalence of CVD. AIM: New research into lipid-lowering drugs is not only questioning their usefulness in primary care, but identifying them as harmful, resulting in the development of other diseases. When the original research is critically analyzed, the data do not reveal drugs that significantly reduce the incidence or prevalence for primary prevention of CVD in the United States. METHODS: The current article sheds light on our current beliefs into lipid-lowering to treat potential CVD. Through a discussion of the difference between relative risk reduction and absolute risk reduction, the author suggests lifestyle modifications have been and always will be the best way to fight against this deadly chronic disease. RESULTS: There is over 60 years-worth of scientific research that has been desperately trying to identify sugar as the culprit and driver of CVD disease; however, the medical system continues to fight against fat and cholesterol. This article makes the reader question what the US government, in association with the Medical Establishment (American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and the American College of Cardiology) have been eschewing for the last 60-70 years as it has NOT been working. CONCLUSION: The time for a culture-wide paradigm change has come. The author suggests this will only happen if Big Pharma and Big Food industries will change their marketing habits from 'purely taste' to 'best for your health'.
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Chrystyne Olivieri (2019) studied this question.
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