Cholesterol Lowering In The Patient With Coronary Heart Disease

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all the body's cells. It's an important part of a healthy body because it's used to form cell membranes, some hormones and is needed for other functions. But a high level of cholesterol in the blood -- hypercholesterolemia -- is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. Cholesterol and other fats can't dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins. There are several kinds, but the key ones are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) Low-density lipoprotein is the major cholesterol carrier in the blood. If too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries feeding the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. This field is alive with exciting new research in all areas including frontal advances in the areas of managing cholesterol as well as cholesterol lowering drugs. This new book focuses on cholesterol in atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

Approximately one-half of the adult population of the United States are being told that they harbor within their bodies a silent killer. This "killer" is cholesterol. Millions are prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs making these pills the most prescribed (and most profitable) medications in the history of American medicine. They are told that these drugs will protect them from the ravages of heart disease. This is patently untrue and can be easily demonstrated by critical analysis of the data presented in the very medical studies that purport to show their benefit. The cholesterol mania that has gripped the country and dominated mainstream medical thought for the past 40 years is based on widespread acceptance of a set of closely related theories variously called the Cholesterol Theory, the Lipid Hypothesis, or the Diet-Heart Theory. The Cholesterol Delusion systematically refutes these prevailing theories that link diet and blood cholesterol levels to coronary heart disease and heart attacks. The Cholesterol Delusion traces the development of these theories from their origins and shows that each step in their evolution was based on faulty evidence and unscientific reasoning. The book then takes it one step further and attacks the very foundation of the "risk factor" paradigm that has dominated cardiovascular research in particular and much of medical research in general for the past 50 years. Written in plain language for the intelligent layman, the arguments are presented in a way that can be easily understood by readers with a limited medical or technical background. The Cholesterol Delusion is must reading for anyone that has been told they have elevated cholesterol levels and/or must take medication to lower them.

A unique overview of all major angiographic lipid intervention trials, presented by their principal investigators. Basic mechanisms and methodological aspects, including biochemical as well as angiographic aspects, are discussed by experts in these fields. A careful comparison of all available data permits an analysis to be made of what may currently be considered proved, which aspects merit further investigation, and which hypotheses should be rejected. Audience: Clinicians involved in the practice of lipid lowering and investigators involved in lipid-lowering clinical trials. Scientists involved in other areas of lipid research and investigators conducting coronary angiographic trials designed to study the influence of different interventions will find a wealth of information and practical guidelines in this book.