It turns out that not just the high cholesterol crowd benefits from the use of anti-cholesterol medications, in this case Crestor, says Bloomberg. Recent studies have shown that the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death is cut almost by half by the use of these drugs by those well within the normal range for blood cholesterol.
The hypothesis is, of course, that widespread use of these drugs for all adults might result in a dramatic reduction of heart-related morbidity and mortality and have called for some researchers to (jokingly?) ask, “Should we put it in the water?”, says Bloomberg.
The problem with the universal prescription of statins as a public health measure to prevent heart problems and other issues seems both unlikely and foolhardy. Why rush to promote a drug that is incredibly costly for those who cannot get it covered by health insurance when there are cost-free alternatives to lowering cholesterol for most healthy adults including diet modification and exercise? Sure it’s easier to pop a Crestor than lay off the cheese nachos, but is it really the best thing for the population overall?
Only future studies will tell us–but for my money, I’d rather spend it on fruits and veggies than a medication to keep cholesterol low. For those who cannot lower blood cholesterol via other methods, statins are a great option. Of course, behavior modification is not easy–but in the long run, nations would be better off promoting healthy behaviors than pumping its citizens full of Crestor.
Summer Johnson, PhD