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Tuesday, March 16, 2004Many are like 60-year-old Thomas E. Siko of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, who thought he had nothing to worry about. Heart disease runs in his family on both sides, but no doctor had ever suggested cholesterol-lowering medication. His H.D.L. level was high, at 72, and his L.D.L. only mildly elevated, at 121. (National guidelines say that an L.D.L. level of less than 100 is optimal; 100 to 129 is near or above optimal, depending on other factors; and above 130 is high.) But last year, after being tested for what he thought was indigestion, Mr. Siko ended up having bypass surgery. Now, with a cholesterol-lowering statin, his L.D.L. level is down to 72 while his H.D.L. is 70. He feels fine. 'I run four miles a day,' Mr. Siko said. Reading that case history, and the rest of the article, one can easily come away with the impression that high cholesterol is the only risk factor for heart disease. It isn't. The number one cause of coronary artery disease is aging. And at age 60, Mr. Siko was no spring chicken. Chances are, even if his cholesterol levels were as low as they are now, he still would have developed coronary artery disease. Maybe it would have happened a few years later than sooner, but it would have happened. Now, he has a new set of clean coronary arteries (fashioned from veins, which aren't subject to the same ravages of a lifetime of blood pumping through them.) What other risk factors, such as smoking, elevated cholesterol, and high blood pressure, do is hasten the rate of damage of coronary arteries, and thus increase the risk. To suggest that taking large amounts of cholesterol lowering drugs will eliminate coronary artery disease either in an individual or a general population is just wrong. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio.... posted by Sydney on 3/16/2004 08:24:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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