statins

See the following -

Butter And Cheese Better Than Trans-Fat Margarines, Says Heart Specialist

Sarah Boseley | The Guardian | October 22, 2013

Aseem Malhotra says saturated fat is not a problem, low-fat products are often full of sugar and statins are over-prescribed Read More »

Don’t Give More Patients Statins

John D. Abramson and Rita F. Redberg | New York Times | November 13, 2013

ON Tuesday, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology issued new cholesterol guidelines that essentially declared, in one fell swoop, that millions of healthy Americans should immediately start taking pills — namely statins — for undefined health “benefits.” Read More »

How Clinical Guidelines Can Fail Both Doctors And Patients

Robert McNutt and Nortin Hadler | The Health Care Blog | December 11, 2013

Any confusion over the recent news of cholesterol guidelines in the U.S. is perfectly understandable. On the one hand, the guidelines suggest that nearly half the population should use statins to stave off heart attacks and strokes. On the other, use of the drugs is not with potential side effects and, to many, will offer no substantive benefits. [...] Read More »

How Scrutiny Of Freely Available Data Might Save The NHS Money

Staff Writer | The Economist | December 8, 2012

This week Britons were reminded yet again of the strains on the government’s finances. But another resource—data—is in abundant supply. Like governments in many other countries, Britain’s is turning more and more of its trove of information into “open data”... Read More »

Not All Snake Oil Is Digital

A different take on "snake oil" in health care was a thoughtful piece in Health Affairs, by David Newman and Amanda Frost, discussing the quality measurement morass in health care. They cite a study that estimated we spend some $15.4b annually collecting several thousand different quality measures, few of which have any meaning to consumers and all-too-few of which seem to be used to actively improve quality. It isn't that they don't think we should be measuring quality -- far from it -- but, rather: "Patients should not be able to choose substandard quality care, and substandard quality care should not be allowed to be offered in the market." Now, there's a novel concept!

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Why You Might Want To Swap Out Your Low-Fat Diet For A Mediterranean One

Staff Writer | Huffington Post | February 8, 2014

When it comes to maintaining a healthy heart, eating more in line with a Mediterranean diet may do you more good than a strictly low-fat one, according to a new review of studies. Read More »