The greater the reduction in LDL cholesterol in statin users who were also given the cholesterol-lowering drug Zetia (ezetimibe), the greater the acceleration of atherosclerosis according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"We found an unexpected paradoxical relationship of a greater degree of atherosclerosis progression in patients with larger, [ Zetia-induced ] ezetimibe-induced reductions in LDL cholesterol level," the researchers noted.

"The use of [ Zetia ] ezetimibe led to a paradoxical increase in the degree of atherosclerosis in association with greater reduction in LDL cholesterol, an effect we hypothesize may stem from unintended biologic effects of this agent," they concluded.

But that's not all.

Even though LDL levels were lower in the statin plus Zetia (ezetimibe) than the statin plus niacin group, during a 14 month period there were:

• 3 times as many heart attacks in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group (3 vs 1)


• 5 times as many cardiovascular deaths in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group (5 vs 1), and


• 7 times as many total deaths in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group (7 vs 1), and


• more than 3 times as many heart bypasses performed in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group (3 vs 0)

Do not be fooled by some advertisement that says, "This drug lowers 'bad' LDL cholesterol." It is irrelevant! The ONLY thing that matters is if it lowers your TOTAL risk of death.

Do not be fooled by whether or not a drug lowers some number on a piece of paper, that is, some marker, such as LDL cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar.

The drug companies have convinced doctors and patients alike that if a drug lowers cholesterol... or blood pressure or blood sugar, that is must be good for you.

This is not true!

Studies going back to the early 1970's found that while oral diabetes drugs lower blood sugar, they caused more problems than they solved.

A 2004 study of blood pressure drugs in older women found that while these drugs lowered blood pressure by 10-15 points lower than women taking no blood pressure drugs, women taking the drugs were MORE likely to die of cardiovascular disease in seven out of the eight ( 7 of 8 ) drug groups than the "no drug" group!

Yes, really.

In fact, women who had been given a diuretic plus a calcium channel blocker were 2.4 times MORE likely to die of cardiovascular disease than women taking no blood pressure medicines at all, even though the systolic pressure of the women taking this drug combination was 11 points lower (138 mm Hg in the drug group vs 149 mm Hg in the "no drug" group)!

This is another example showing that the number on a piece of paper is irrelevant!

It does not matter whether or not a drug lowers LDL cholesterol or blood pressure or blood sugar or any other marker.

The only thing that matters is whether or not it lowers your total risk of death.

Please do not fall for this advertising nonsense!

Ignore LDL Cholesterol

Dr. Rodney A. Hayward says we should IGNORE LDL cholesterol ignore

Researchers quoted in the January 17th, 2008 cover story in BusinessWeek titled "Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good", said that they research suggests that we should IGNORE LDL cholesterol altogether.

"[C]urrent evidence supports ignoring LDL cholesterol altogether," University of Michigan's [Dr. Rodney A. Hayward, professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School] was quoted as saying in this BusinessWeek article. Read the entire article | Email this article

There were fewer heart attacks, fewer heart bypasses performed, fewer cardiovascular deaths, and fewer total deaths during a 14 month period in statin users given extended-release niacin compared to those given Zetia (ezetimibe) according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The final dose of extended-release niacin was:

• 2000 mg in 75% of patients


• 1500 mg in 3% of patients


• 1000 mg in 12% of patients


• 500 mg in 10% of patients

In rare cases, niacin can cause liver problems.

This is more common with extended-release niacin than regular niacin.

This is because extended-release niacin (or time-release niacin) is roughly the equivalent of double the dose of regular niacin as noted by Dr. William Parsons in the 1993 book Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense. An evaluation by scientists. Read the entire article | Email this article

There were 86% fewer total deaths in 14 months in statin users given extended-release niacin compared to those given Zetia (ezetimibe) according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

There was one (1) deaths in the niacin group during the 14 months versus seven (7) deaths in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group.

Two of the deaths in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group, and one (1) death in the niacin group were non-cardiovascular, however, they don't say what they were.

Since statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs which artificially lower cholesterol have been found to increase the risk of cancer, suicide, accidental death, and congestive heart failure (with statins), these two deaths may or may not be relevant.

Since they did not say what these people died from, it feels to me like they are trying to hide something.

I am trying to find out what these other people died from. Read the entire article | Email this article

There were 67% fewer heart attacks in 14 months in statin users given extended release niacin compared to those given Zetia (ezetimibe) according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

There was one (1) heart attack in the niacin group versus three (3) heart attacks in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group. Read the entire article | Email this article

There were 100% fewer heart attacks in 14 months in statin users given extended release niacin compared to those given Zetia (ezetimibe) according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

There were no heart bypasses (0) performed in the niacin group during the 14 months versus three (3) heart bypasses performed in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group. Read the entire article | Email this article

There were 80% fewer cardiovascular deaths in 14 months in statin users given extended release niacin compared to those given Zetia (ezetimibe) according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

There was one (1) cardiovascular death in the niacin group versus five (5) cardiovascular deaths in the Zetia (ezetimibe) group. Read the entire article | Email this article

A 4-year study found that the combination of two cholesterol-lowering drugs -- Zocor (a statin) plus Zetia -- did not reduce the total risk of death.

In fact, the overall death rate was 4% higher in people given these drugs.

This may have been due to random chance, but at the very least, it shows that that these drugs did absolutely no good whatsoever.

But wait. There's more. Read the entire article | Email this article

How many doctors and patients would view the recommendations on cholesterol differently if they knew that 8 out of 9 of the scientists on the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) panel, which is a group from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) that has issued national recommendations on cholesterol levels and who should be taking these drugs, have taken money or stocks or stock options by the drug companies selling these drugs? Read the entire article | Email this article

This 4-year study found that the combination of two cholesterol-lowering drugs - Zocor (a statin) plus Zetia - did NOT reduce the total risk of death.

In fact, the overall death rate was 4% higher in people given these drugs.

This may have been due to random chance, but at the very least, it shows that that these drugs did absolutely no good whatsoever.

People given these drugs had 48% more cancer ( 105 cases versus 70 cases ).

People given these drugs had 64% more cancer deaths ( 39 deaths versus 23 deaths ).

( This is the 3rd video highlight from this paper. ) Read the entire article | Email this article