DRUGS TO LOWER CHOLESTEROL: DO STATINS WORK IN WOMEN?

So far there have not been any studies to show that statin drags reduce death rates from heart disease in women. The University of British Columbia Therapeutics Initiative has stated that statins offer no benefit to women for the prevention of heart disease. Yet more and more women are being put on these drags, and women are more likely than men to experience their negative side effects. In the vast majority of controlled, randomized clinical trials done on statins, there has been no improvement in survival rates in women.

According to Dr James M. Wright, PhD, of the University of British Columbia, “combined results of all trials do not support the use of statins by women without heart disease”. High blood cholesterol has never proven to be a risk factor for heart disease in women. At every age, women usually have higher blood cholesterol levels than men of the same age, yet women are around 15 years older than men when they have their first heart attack. The General Accounting Office of the US Government has recognized the lack of thorough clinical trials by stating “the trials generally have not evaluated the efficacy of cholesterol-lowering treatment for several important population groups, such as women, elderly men and women, and minority men and women. Thus, they provide little or no evidence of benefits or possible risks for these groups “.

As well as not reducing the risk of heart disease, statins can increase the risk of cancer. Three clinical trials have shown women who take statin drags to have higher rates of breast cancer. In one trial, people with heart disease took 40mg of Pravachol (pravastatin) or a placebo daily. The study found that 12 out of 286 women taking Pravachol developed breast cancer, and only one out of 290 taking the placebo did. This result is claimed to be “not statistically significant”, so you don’t hear about it. Only the positive results are published because much of the research is funded by the company that makes the drug. Medical research is extremely expensive to carry out, therefore the drug companies have to make sure they recoup their money.

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