Statin drugs give an "illusion of protection" from heart attacks and stroke, say top doctors in the United Kingdom, and more lives would be saved if patients made lifestyle chances, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising, and quitting smoking.
While the effectiveness of statins shouldn't be discounted, say researchers at the University of Liverpool, putting more emphasis on lifestyle changes could offer larger health gains as well as relieve pressure on healthcare systems.
"Measures like controlling tobacco, increasing physical activity, improving the contents of processed food products, restricting marketing of junk food, taxation of sugary drinks, and subsidies to make healthier foods more affordable, require renewed attention not just from academics, but crucially from people and policymakers," researcher Martin O'Flaherty told the Telegraph.
Guidelines from the UK's National Institute for Health Care and Excellence (NICE) encouraged doctors to offer statin drugs to most men over the age of 60 and women over 65, even if their risk of developing cardiovascular disease during the next decade is as low as 1 in 10, claiming tens of thousands of lives would be saved.
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Statins are a case where the treatment is worse than the disease.
ReplyDeleteThose drugs are killers!
i tried them for several weeks... total 205. ldl 115. hdl 80. tri 45. i thought they were killing me. be careful..
ReplyDeleteThe UK (naturally) proposes to change culture and health through taxation and legislation. "Food Police" For them, a healthy lifestyle is not considered a choice, it is considered a requirement. That's their government healthcare making choices for them....and the promise of Obama Care coming our way.
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