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A prominent medical authority
this past week announced his prediction that 50% of the entire US population
could be taking statin medication. He cites the following reasons for
these cholesterol-lowering drugs becoming so prevalent that virtually
every medicine cabinet in the country will be stocked with it:
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They are supposedly tremendously effective
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They are claimed to be completely safe at the
recommended dosages
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Several statins may soon be available without
a prescription
- The first statin (lovastatin) will come off-patent
in June 2001, allowing generics to be produced, driving down the price
Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., dean and medical provost
of Cornell University Medical College, New York, New York, told a press
conference that he favored this class of drugs for all men aged more than
45 and women aged 55 plus who had a total cholesterol of more than 200
mg/dL, an HDL cholesterol of less than 50 mg/dL and one other risk factor
for coronary heart disease.
12th International
Symposium on Atherosclerosis, June 2000 Stockholm, Sweden
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