NEWS: Doctors in a state of confusion over statins

Would you take a drug to prevent heart disease if it causes heart disease? What if the drug also significantly increases your chances of becoming diabetic and ramps up your risk of Parkinson’s, kidney failure, liver problems, cataracts and much more?



Welcome to the extraordinary world of statins, the world’s most prescribed drug. Despite mounting evidence against them, doctors around the globe swear by them and many millions of patients swallow them daily.

Medical experts remain divided on the side effects of statins. Some say they are overstated and at most occur in one in 1,000 people; others say they are underreported and the incidence is at least 20%.

Many doctors agree statins can be lifesaving. Cardiologists point to millions of lives saved when heart attacks and strokes were prevented after patients started taking statins. But many disagree with statins for primary prevention in low-risk patients.
Opponents have called the move "statin insanity". Certainly, it makes statins a poster child for confusion in modern medicine’s ranks.

READ MORE

Follow us on Facebook:
PEFM 87.6

Follow us on Twitter:
@PEFMnews

Listen to us on streaming internet radio at: Tunein and from our website at:  PEFM



International Correspondent Scott Congdon can be reached at:
Mail: scottcpefm@gmail.com
Phone: 010 500 8203 (in South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)
011 27 10 500 8203 (calling from outside of South Africa) (Available 3-5pm SAST weekdays)

*Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of PEFM 87.6or our presenters or correspondents.  Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.

© PEFM 87.6