VIDEO: Cholesterol-Lowering Drug Trials Need to Be Re-evaluated

Transcript

You know, your doctor may be prescribing a statin drug based on cholesterol-lowering trials that he or she read in the '90's and all the way up to even today.

But something happened in 2005 that I want to discuss with you. First of all, the trials prior to 2005 were mostly positive; occasional negative, but mostly positive, showing a strong correlation between cholesterol lowering and improved heart health.

In 2005, when these anti-inflammatory drugs came out in the market and they were causing heart health and brain health problems, the FDA put the pharmaceutical companies under a microscope. They wanted more safety. They were scrutinized. Their research was scrutinized.

What happened after 2005? Well, after the scrutiny by the FDA, the trials after 2005 and even to this day are not as strong or positive as the relationship between cholesterol lowering and cardiovascular events. There's a disconnect here.

Now, Michel De Lorgeril, a French cardiologist, who's the author of "The Mediterranean Diet," wrote an article about this. He's asking for a full reappraisal of the cholesterol theory in heart disease.

Michel De Lorgeril, like myself and others, do not believe that cholesterol is the major cardinal cardiovascular risk factor. We need a reappraisal of all the trials. In the next segment, I'm going to discuss the Mediterranean diet.