Raising Good Cholesterol Is Not So Good Says NY Times Article

Raising Good Cholesterol Is Not So Good Says NY Times Article

The NY Times recently published an article in their health section titled Study Questions Treatment Used in Heart Disease.

The growing use of cholesterol medication has become a problem for many people, simply because the side effects which appear in the muscles of the patients we treat and the frequent doctors visits it creates a need for (four visits yearly). People are finding many doctors recommending these medications even if the evidence that they truly will improve your lifespan and prevent you from having a cardiac event is not so clear. After this current study, it is even less clear, with many patients and their cures which include niacin or dubious value.

The problem I have with many of these interventions is that we are eventually going to all cease to exist. The point of it all is to of course live healthier and happier lives however, I am not convinced this achieves this goal and increasing evidence shows this may be junk medicine. As with any intervention if the risks do not outweigh the benefits (this seems more and more evident that cholesterol medicines benefits have been overstated), what are we doing, why do we spend the money and quite honestly, is this really preventative healthcare? Perhaps, cholesterol levels the latest health bogeyman to scare the public into taking medications that are not only unhealthy, but raise the cost of our insurance each year as more people are conned into taking this stuff.

Even the FDA will need to rethink their positions, even though pharmaceutical influence is huge on many of their policies. Well, another well meaning preventative (not reall) intervention bites the dust.