Heart Disease - Recent Study Says It's Not Cholesterol - Could Be Lazy Medical Care

A recent study conducted by the UCLA School of Medicine found 75% of
patients hospitalized for a heart attack had LDL cholesterol within
the so called safe range- below 130mg/dl. (21% of the patients were
taking a statin cholesterol-lowering drug.) The study also found that
50 percent of the patients had LDL less than 100mg/dL, considered to
be optimum levels. The data base used records from 541 hospitals
across the country and the American Heart Journal published the study
in 2009.What is the take away here? There is the obvious take away but
then there is the "how do we use this to sell more drugs?" take away.
If you are a pharmaceutical company selling cholesterol lowering drugs
you are thinking one way and if you are honest and a doctor or patient
you should take another view. It is a serious threat to your health
because the die-hards businessmen and drug companies think we are not
lowering cholesterol enough!! That is completely lame. Drug companies
and insurance companies want the cheapest way to treat you! But are
years and years of taking drugs that cost a great deal over time
coupled with the prospect of a hospitalization due to heart problems
really the least expensive?This study is important in its implications
for the individual patient. The other important data to keep in mind
is the steep rise in elderly people (and the not so elderly) who have
developed Alzheimer's disease. Have they taken cholesterol lowering
drugs? Couple these data together and you have some answers as to what
might be happening with our health profiles in this country.In
clinical practice the doctors, in a rush to see as many people as
possible, take the easy way out. The guidelines and "standards of
care" determine the prescription of a cholesterol lowering drug in the
case of someone with "high" cholesterol or heart disease. You do not
have to have much face time when you do a blood test for cholesterol
and prescribe a drug and send the person on his way with advice to
stop eating foods that drive cholesterol up. It is fast, cheap and
easy.Here is what should be happening; a physician with a thorough
education knows the liver produces cholesterol and the body needs it
for health. He knows that cholesterol is a major constituent of every
cell membrane in the entire body. He knows cholesterol is protective
of the nervous system and the basic building block of hormones and
vitamin D. A very important substance for health! He also knows the
likely causes of heart problems and looks for them. He knows heavy
metals are implicated in the development of high blood pressure and
found in the muscle wall of the heart at autopsy in people with some
forms of heart disease. He will offer diagnostic tests that look at
toxic metals and mineral nutrient status of his patients. He knows
ionic calcium (not the kind in bones) gets stuck in the muscle wall of
the artery and in plaque causing "hardening of the arteries". If he is
really good he will recommend or provide IV chelation therapy to lower
the levels of lead, ionic calcium, antimony, cadmium and other metals
throughout the vascular system improving over all circulation.One
other benefit for the doctor is the happiness of people who feel great
and are active and healthy. Be a hero, do what is right with the
scientific evidence provided by this study.