Posted by Jack
http://www.wellnessclubsofamerica.com/Copy_of_Cholesterol_Low_Part_1_c.htmlPatients taking some common medications for high cholesterol and irregular heart beats can suffer severe muscle damage because of a problem in the way the drugs interact, a government study warned.
“…low cholesterol levels, even though they are in a proper proportion of HDL and LDL can be deadly.”
The cholesterol is harmful hypothesis is but one of several theories that have been advanced over the past 200 years to explain the phenomenon of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The body and especially the brain needs a certain amount of cholesterol to function properly, afterall the brain is nearly 50% cholesterol. Depriving the body of cholesterol can lead to anxiety or panic attacks, depression and even stroke! Some people wrongly assume that lowering cholesterol will lead to reduced arterial plaque (hardening of the arteries), however at the end of the study there was no statistical difference in the progression of arterial calcified plaque betweeen those who took statin drugs to reduce cholesterol and those who did not.
…Cholesterol is NOT the Cause of Heart Disease
The Food and Drug Administration said doctors should use extra care when prescribing Zocor, generic Zocor, or Vytorin to patients who are also taking amiodarone, a heart rhythm drug marketed as Cordarone or Pacerone. The danger is higher for patients taking more than 20 milligrams a day of the cholesterol drugs, the agency said.
The generic name for the cholesterol medications is simvastatin.
Muscle injury is a risk with any of the cholesterol drugs known as statins, including Lipitor, particularly for the elderly. Although the risk of such injuries is low overall, they can be serious because they can lead to kidney failure and even death.
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