[Dr.Clark] Confused Over New Cholesterol Guidelines?

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Misty L. Trepke

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Confused Over the New Cholesterol Guidelines?

DrWhitaker.com

 

August 05, 2004

 

They've done it again. The powers that be in the government, the

American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology

have deemed millions of Americans " sick. "

 

According to the new cholesterol guidelines recently endorsed by

these organizations, millions of Americans went to bed one night in

July with healthy cholesterol levels and woke up the next morning in

need of a drug.

 

New Recommendations Even Lower

 

This nonsense actually began about two and a half years ago, with

the release of the third revision of the National Cholesterol

Education Program (NCEP III) clinical practice guidelines,

recommending an optimal LDL cholesterol level of less than 100. It

was estimated at that time that to achieve this level, 36 million

Americans would be required to take cholesterol-lowering drugs.

 

Well, this latest revision attempts to drive cholesterol levels even

lower. They are recommending that people at very high risk (those

with angina, diabetes, a history of a heart attack, bypass, or

angioplasty, or other risk factors) get their LDL cholesterol down

to 70!

 

Folks, the only way to get your cholesterol this low is to take

prescription drugs. If these new guidelines are followed to the

letter, about 40 percent of American adults will soon be taking

drugs to lower their cholesterol!

 

Guess Who's Pulling the Strings

 

It's no secret who is driving — and benefiting from —

these recommendations: the drug companies. They're the ones who

paid for the five studies suggesting that the previous cholesterol

guidelines were not low enough and that more aggressive use of drugs

was warranted.

 

This is yet another thinly veiled attempt by the pharmaceutical

companies to sell even more of their $100 a month prescriptions to

the American public.

 

Look, I'm not opposed to recommending that people get their

cholesterol down to a reasonable level. There is no question that a

high LDL cholesterol level is linked to an increased risk of heart

disease. But whether or not such aggressive lowering is necessary

has not been definitely proven, nor has the safety of this method of

reducing cholesterol. Statin drugs have a host of adverse effects

that, in my opinion, far outweigh any potential benefits.

 

You Have Other Options

 

If the only way to get cholesterol levels into the healthy range was

to take a drug, I wouldn't be so outraged. But that isn't the

case. Dietary changes and targeted nutritional supplements have been

shown time and time again to effectively and safely lower

cholesterol.

 

Cholesterol isn't the only marker for heart disease. In fact, it

isn't even the most significant. If you want to get aggressive

about anything, get aggressive about making lifestyle changes to

lower your cholesterol and improve other aspects of heart health at

the same time.

 

Julian Whitaker MD