Statin News

"A population-based study in Sweden shows that the massive deployment of statins has provided no benefit."

And:

"'The changes to the label are based on the Study of the Effectiveness of Additional Reductions in Cholesterol and Homocysteine (SEARCH), a study reported by heartwire. In that trial, 52 patients taking the 80-mg dose developed myopathy compared with one patient treated with the 20-mg dose. In addition, 22 patients treated with the high dose of simvastatin developed rhabdomyolysis compared with none treated with the 20-mg dose.'

"Rhabdomyolysis is medical-speak for 'Holy @#$%! My muscles are breaking down and wasting away.'"

Tom sums it up:

"Nothing like taking a drug that damages muscles to prevent heart disease. If memory serves, the heart is a muscle. I suspect that if high doses of statins can produce muscle damage extensive enough to be diagnosed, low doses may produce damage many patients don’t notice. And since the Swedish study shows that large-scale prescribing of statins hasn’t lowered rates of heart disease, here’s the logical conclusion: STOP TAKING THESE HORRIBLE DRUGS!"

Bingo.

P.S. Forgot to link to the source.  Duh.  Fixed.