And The Fire-Fighting Continues ...

Statins are considered a wonder-drug in the fight against high cholesterol. New research suggests they halve the risk of heart attack.

There are other possible benefits like protecting the kidneys, reducing dementia risk and improving bone conditions like arthritis and osteoporosis.

Pretty impressive stuff.

Of course we don't know much about the effect of taking statins for decades ... but they work and save lives. Enough said.

The numbers are considered high if total cholesterol is 240mg/dL (6.22mmol/L) or above, or "bad" LDL cholesterol is 130mg/dL (3.68mmol/L) or above.

Of course, before statins are prescribed, other risk factors are also taken into account. Family history, age, smoking, diabetes, stress ... the usual suspects.

If you are considered high risk for heart attack or stroke, it's a safe bet you'll be prescribed statins even if you haven't yet shown obvious signs of either disease. This is termed "primary prevention".

Once you actually have cardio-vascular disease the drug is prescribed as "secondary prevention".

Once you start on statins, you'll likely need to stay on them indefinitely. Stopping the protocol means cholesterol levels go right back up. So there's no going back! Ouch!

Now it has been proposed that the threshold for primary prevention be lowered so that more people become dependant for life. Of course I should muzzle my cynicism ... because lives will be saved.

In fact, it's estimated that one-in-four Britons over the age of forty will be statin-dependant within 5 years! And presumably less people will die of heart attack and stroke.

I'm sorry, I find the prospect of that statistic jarring! One in Four, over 40!

So statin prescriptions will increase at a rate of about 30% a year. An industry will boom, but lives will be saved.

And "healthy" people will be turned into dependant patients.

What if ... and I hesitate to even suggest it ... what if people were encouraged to stop smoking, stop drinking, manage their stress, change their eating habits and get more active?

Nah ... that will never happen. Keep going lads ... the doc's got you covered! This one's on the tax payer.