By Jackie, February 5 2007 Caveat lector: Reliance on Published Studies Is Risky Dear Readers~ This is another lengthy post but one that is especially relevant to our group since we read studies and do research. Caveat lector: let the reader beware. So often we reference clinical studies published in respected medical journals to support or refute a finding on a health issue, a drug,by Anonymous User - AFIBBERS FORUM
Confirmation – Just say “No” to statins Awareness Alert As new afibbers, we often initially seek help from cardiologists and typically during the assessment, many of us are prescribed statins as routine, preventive care (captive audience). Many previous posts have discussed the ineffectiveness of statins, the side effects and risks and the fact that, as often stated, “cholesterol is noby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
I concur with Shannon on this, and some of the other comments made above. I would highly recommend the book called, "Overdosed America" by Dr. John Abramson, which says "How the Pharmaceutical companies are corrupting science, misleading doctors and threatening your health". - very interesting read and an eye opener for those who may be unaware of the tremendous influence thby tobherd - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks Gordon – in Integrative/Functional Medicine circles… the opinions are still the same… very few, if any people benefit from taking statins. Here are two current references that are informative… Cholesterol Lowering, Cardiovascular Diseases, and the Rosuvastatin-JUPITER Controversy A Critical Reappraisal Michel de Lorgeril, MD; Patricia Salen, BSc; John Abramson, MD; Sylvie Dodin, Mby Jackie - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
Murray - you asked about studies showing benefits of statins… Here are several posts from the archives…. Here is a post link to a Feb 2007 teleconference review with John Abramson, MD, Harvard Medical Faculty, and author of Overdo$ed America… Read the whole review to get an idea of why the majority of studies are often not representative of the truth….statins just one example. .......&qby Jackie - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
The Cholesterol Paradigm: The Greatest Health Scam of The Century. An interview with Sheldon Zerden, Part 1 By Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D. December 2009 The Cholesterol Paradigm: Beware of the Side Effects of Anti-cholesterol Drugs An Interview with Sheldon Zerden, Part 2 By Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D. January 2010 Excerpt: Passwater: Dr. Graveline has an excellent Web site on stby Anonymous User - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
Doug - There is just so much evidence that while statins may work to lower cholesterol… cholesterol isn’t the enemy. The body needs cholesterol to function properly and reducing it just causes other problem… as you note… afib is just one. Now, OXIDIZED LDL cholesterol is another story, completely. Antioxidants, proper foods, lifestyle and controlling inflammation is important. If you hby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Frank - it's really misleading to rely on studies. There have been a lot of reports about the bias in studies and how they are often designed to have the outcomes they want. In 2007, I posted a review of the book by John Abramson, MD, who was also faculty at Harvard Medical School.... "Overdo$ed America".... It begins: Dear Readers~ This is another lengthy post but one that is especially reby Jackie - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
Gary, from all that I have read lately, it seems that your CRP levels might be even more telling. They measure the inflammation in your body, and if they are good, elevated cholesterol is not a big problem, unless it is extremely high - as in familial hypocholesteroma (sp?). Have you had that tested too? Lots of good info in both Dr. Atkins books on this, as well as a book called, "Overby Barb H. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Adding a bit more to the statin discussion that branched out in the Supplement thread <>, it's important to learn why statins can affect everyone including afibbers due to the depletion of CoQ10. Statins prescriptions are very popular these days; they get pushed on everyone. One of my favorite books, Overdo$ed America, by John Abramson, MD, clinical instructor at Harvard Medical school, devotesby Jackie - GENERAL HEALTH FORUM
Thanks Erling for that excellent LEF contribution. Miriam... your staunch defense of the FDA and studies etc.. indicates to me that you really are unaware of the flaws and bias of published data and and the manipulation that goes into published studies. Every day something new comes out disclosing some type of discrepancy that enabled drugs to make it to market and the fact that now those drugsby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Kevin Since you have an artificial valve, be sure you do extra research on going off a statin...that's out of my comfort zone for recommendations other than what we already know about the side effects. An artificial valve may need special considerations. But regardless of on or off the statin, you need to really do good research on the importance of CoQ10 for the heart and overall health. Hby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Well Roger...... taking this out of the potential realm of people who have vested interests, ie, selling something ...suggest you read: Overdo$ed America - The Broken Promise of American Medicine ...How the pharmaceutical companies are corrupting science, misleading doctors and threatening your health. by John Abramson, MD... on Harvard Faculty The Truth About Drug Companies - How theyby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
A great read on this and related topics is "Overdosed America" by Dr. John Abramson. Very enlightening. Barbby Barb H. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Roger, In a perfect world, one might naturally assume that a clinical study would be the epitome of ethics, evidence and proof of both efficacy and safety for anything being examined. However, the reality is, it's a bit naive to think that every study, double-blind, etc etc... reports reliable, unbiased information. Remember that studies and study results these days are highly suspect as beinby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
John - At Hans' web vitamin link above (box says My Favorite Supplements) Go there and type in red yeast rice. The first one that comes up is by Doctor's Best and they indicate it is US grown. I'd write or call Doctor's Best just to have their confirmation that there is no risk of contamination issues or impurities from growing and harvesting. Just remember, this is a statin so you do neeby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Yeah, right! Statins may be useful in certain situations; they certainly are high on the popularity prescription writing chart and a huge income producer for Big Pharma. From a previous post I offered as my personal opinion on this topic: "Im weighing in as a statin skeptic. Look closely and note the write up says post-menopausal women with existing coronary artery disease. For them, thatby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
We posted last year (4/08) on the topic of bisphosphonates (Fosamax and Reclast) when the connection to arrhythmia surfaced. The discussion also included the fact that these drugs create a false impression of increasing bone density and strength most of it being on the surface of the bone rather shoring up the inside by strengthening the interior structure. This is an anecdotal story about aby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mike - I hope you dont think my response is intentionally antagonistic. My mission is to create awareness or enlightenment about healthy alternatives. Artificial sweeteners are just one of those caveats that everyone needs to know about and not just afibbers. The body doesnt recognize them as a nutrient, doesnt need them and they dont keep people healthy or slim. If aspartame is compby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
You will recall in my review of the book, Overdo$ed America, the author (John Abramson, MD) was pointing out the errors in relying on published results of clinical trials that mislead doctors and the public into using drugs that were ineffective and often harmful. Title: Caveat lector: Reliance on Published Studies is Risky <> The following article was published in late December '08. Im juby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Im just creating awareness here. My thought is that it might be good to check other sources on something of critical importance rather than relying on a sole source. As we know the from Marcia Angells information in her book about the drug companies and from John Abramsons book about bias and cover-ups in clinical study reporting, the peer reviews may not necessarily be the end-all be-all uby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Mark - typically, our body is not deficient in a prescription drug, that's why we like to look for the source of the problems and attempt to restore what nutritional deficiencies exist. Such is the case with statins. Elevated CRP can be managed very nicely with natural products that have no downside or do not interfere with other important functions such as found with statin drugs. I seeby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sharon - Weight bearing exercise is good as is previously mentioned, resistance training that pulls on the tendons at the insertion points along bones and that pulling or tugging stimulates new bone turnover called remodeling. New bone cell formation is stimulated and old bone cells are allowed to die to make room for the turnover. Running can be very hard on joints and vertabrae especiallyby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Melanie - I'm very aware of corporate influences and marketing strategy. I was in that field myself before healthcare. What I find most alarming is the fact that the doctors prescribing the 'latest and greatest' drug innovations are often at the mercy of what they are told (and not told) by Big Pharma. Its acknowledged that there is cover-up when it comes to drug safety and performance.by Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
As long as Erling has continued this enlightenment, I'd like to add this: A while back, I clipped an article that was titled: "Can a Drug that Helps Hearts Be Harmful to the Brain?" The introduction caught my eye especially the comment: "This drug makes women stupid" Tuesday, February 12, 2008 By Melinda Beck Cognitive side effects like memory loss and fuzzy thinking aren't listed on theby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Erling This just re-emphasizes my focus of creating awareness and awareness about the NIH is no exception. After thinking about this a bit more, Id like to add a couple of comments the first being that I think that the majority of people are very naïve about the NIH and the intentions of mainstream medicine with regard to alternative approaches to health. They say they are health orienteby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Great article, Tish - I have John Abramson's book, "Overdosed America". It was a real "eye-opener". Barbby Barb H. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Im weighing in as a statin skeptic. Look closely and note the write up says post-menopausal women with existing coronary artery disease. For them, a statin may be a viable option, but Id really be cautious and they should also be prescribed the additional use of CoQ10 in relatively generous doses for protection. Because hormone production (including sex hormones) relies on cholesterol, bloby Jackie - AFIBBERS FORUM
Dan - have not heard of that one but it sounds similiar to "Overdosed America" by Dr. John Abramson - very interesting also! Thanks for the recommendation ~ Barbby Barb H. - AFIBBERS FORUM
Sue - if you can find a copy of "Overdosed America" by Dr. John Abramson, you may very well find that you don't need to be on any of those medications for osteoporosis. It's an excellent read overall about "How the pharmaceutical companies are corrupting science, misleading doctors, and threatening your health". Dr. Abramsom, who practiced family medicine for overby Barb H. - AFIBBERS FORUM