A recent Swedish study seems to show that the use of statins, found in commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs like Lipitor, can actually increase the chances of a person suffering cardiovascular disease or even a cardiovascular event.
The study, conducted at The Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm, Sweden was looking at a possible relationship between the levels of PCSK9, An enzyme found in the blood, and cardiovascular disease in older individuals.
Included in the study were 4,000 participants, all over 60 years of age and free of cardiovascular disease at the outset. What they found was surprising to the researchers: those people with higher baseline serum PCSK9 concentrations were significantly more likely to experience a cardiovascular event or cardiovascular disease within 15 years as opposed to those with the lowest levels of PCSK9.
Lead researcher Dr. Karin Leander said, “PCSK9 is an interesting biological marker. And if our results are confirmed by others, it seems it has a role in cardiovascular disease etiology beyond that of LDL-cholesterol regulation.”
But what she didn’t say, at least not overtly, is that this is a tacit admission of what the public is not supposed to know: statin use increases, not decreases, the risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular events (heart attacks, cardiac deaths, stroke, etc.)
Even after adjustment for LDL cholesterol, as well as other known cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and statin use, the association between increased circulatory PCSK9 and increased risk of cardiovascular disease was still significant.
What’s also not being said is what they are going to do about all the millions and millions of people who take statins on a daily basis, ostensibly to lower their cholesterol and keep their hearts healthy. You would think the news that they can do the opposite would bring the full weight of the scientific community raining down on statin use, issuing demands for recalls of the drugs, certainly at the very least eliciting suggests that patients and doctors proceed with caution when it comes to prescribing and taking the drugs.
It’s frankly crazy that these types of drugs are so widely and indiscriminately prescribed in the face of this clear evidence they are harmful.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Lipitor and the like are at the heart of a billion-dollar a year industry?
Nah, that’s just crazy.
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/860222?nlid=102044_2863&src=wnl_dne_160314_mscpedit&uac=117629CN&impID=1021523&faf=1