Risk patients symptoms and conditions

“The first heart disease indicator to be recommended by the American Heart Association in twenty years entails only a surprisingly simple, inexpensive blood test. This high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) test takes the traditional cardiac check-up a step further, pinpointing those people who are at a much higher risk than others for heart disease, America’s leading cause of death. From hs-CRP results, doctors gain crucial insight into inflammation of the blood vessels around the heart, a factor not considered until now for patients at risk… People who have suffered a heart attack or stroke and those with at least one risk factor, such as family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking or diabetes, should be tested. While the American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control just recently recommended hs-CRP testing as an option for those already at risk, The Cleveland Clinic has used the hs-CRP test routinely for at-risk patients for several years. Hs-CRP is a great test for people with one or two risk factors who wonder if they are really in jeopardy of a heart attack or a stroke (Greater than 3.0 mg/L High Risk for CVD). It’s probably less useful for people without any risk factors.” See entire article: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/news/hot/crp.aspx
Hopefully, your physician/cardiologist will do a C-Reactive Protein (CRP) test, and based on the results of the CRP, consider a low dose statin (5mg Lipitor –split tablet in half or 10mg Zocor), instead of a high dose. See article by Dr. Cohen, Associate Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego: “Overall, the risk of death was the same with high-dose and lower-dose Lipitor. In other words, high-dose Lipitor offered no advantage in the study's most important category: preventing deaths.” See, www.medicationsense.com (HIGH-DOSE LIPITOR FOR HEART ATTACKS: HOW EFFECTIVE, HOW SAFE?)
Also see, the recent article (Feb. 2008), by Board Certified Cardiologist, Dr. Peter Langsjoen, M.D., FAAC, which details the trouble with statins and the requirement to supplement with 300mg to 600 mg of CoQ10 daily: *******/magazine/mag2008/feb2008_Alleviating-Congestive-Heart-Failure-With-Coenzyme-Q10_01.htm, as well as, CITIZEN PETITION TO CHANGE THE LABELING FOR ALL STATIN DRUGS (MEVACOR, LESCOL, PRAVACHOL, ZOCOR, LIPITOR, AND ADVICOR) RECOMMENDING USE OF 100-200mg PER DAY OF SUPPLEMENTAL CO-ENZYME Q10 TO REDUCE THE RISK OF STATIN-INDUCED MYOPATHIES (INCLUDING CARDIOMYOPATHY AND CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE). *****/OHRMS/DOCKETS/dailys/02/May02/052902/02p-0244-cp00001-01-vol1.pdf.
In closing, I hope your physician/cardiologist will consider recommending CoQ10 in addition, should he/she make the decision to prescribe the above (Low Dose Statins to reduce inflammation of the blood vessel wall/endothelium). See, the following medical research/article: ******/cgi/content/abstract/57/1/1

See my previous entry below at: "Fri, 26 Mar 2004 18:48:12 -0500 by balinaidoo, #4960".
I have since read "The Cholesterol Myths" by Dr Uffe Ravnskov (bought from Amazon). This man is as straight as a die and just completely and scientifically honest. Believe me, I am always on the look-out for "snake oil salesmen" and would run a mile if I smelled one nearby. I am now utterly convinced that cholesterol DOES NOT CAUSE HEART DISEASE. It is the innocent bystander trying to help at the scene of the accident. It REPAIRS damage for heavens sake. Read this book and be amazed (?) at how the drug companies, so-called "scientific" research study groups, government regulating bodies, physicians and cardiologists etc etc have mostly shown venal greed, total lack of care for you and me, lethargy and laziness, desire to go along with "revered authority" etc etc to foist on us the huge lie that high cholesterol is a problem and that the diet-heart theory is to be believed. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! This is your health (easily damaged and very precious to you) and your money (Absolutely BILLIONS) that they are mis-appropriating. The message is FORGET ABOUT CHOLESTEROL LEVEL. Unless you are in the minority group who suffer from familial hypercholesterolemia (an inherited condition), then cholesterol is NOT going to give you heart disease. I exhort you to read this book.
Statins appear to faintly reduce the number of cardiovascular events in very high risk patients (are you sure you are one?) although even this result may be down to pure chance. What they do is to increase the number of deaths overall! So, you may well increase your chances of dying from cancer. Is this good?
The true villian appears to be Homocysteine a sulphur bearing amino acid in the blood. A test for level is readily available (on the NHS in the UK). Now buy and devour a book called "The Heart Revolution" by Dr Kilmer McCully. This is another revelation and the answer to high levels of Homocysteine seems to be Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic Acid. How difficult is that? This Homocysteine may also be implicated in Alzheimers, Cancers, Arthritis etc. The fact that no expensive drugs are involved explains why those famous drugs companies (and all those who are in their very deep pockets) don't want you to know about this.
Finally get "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. Wow! Those lovely tasty foods we were warned to spurn are OK after all. She also gives you a very thorough and expert introduction to the good and bad points of almost anything you may want to eat. Read, go back to good old-fashioned food and enjoy your life again. Just who are these ghastly people who have been foisting the failed diet-heart theory on us at huge profit to themselves and at huge cost to our health and to our enjoyment of decent food? Why did we let them do it to us?
I am not a doctor and I have no vested interest in promoting any of the above mentioned works except that I have ditched statins and have found that these people give a totally refreshing and deeply honest take on the problems that so many of us have suffered from. Best of all, get your doctor to read them too. We need to get this monkey off our backs.