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High cholesterol - the myth and reality

Season 1, Ep. 107

Cholesterol has become an obsession for so many people over the last 50 years. In this episode I look at the story of cholesterol and why it is important and when to worry about it.


Links:


The history of cholesterol: https://www.escardio.org/Journals/E-Journal-of-Cardiology-Practice/Volume-19/history-in-medicine-the-story-of-cholesterol-lipids-and-cardiology


Food and cholesterol: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/11-foods-that-lower-cholesterol


Monacolin K (in both red yeast rice and statins): https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/monacolins


Numbers need to treat (NNT):

https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/resources/ebm-tools/number-needed-to-treat-nnt



Diet and statins: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/29/mediterranean-diet-better-than-statins-for-tackling-heart-disease-study



ApoB and Lp(a): https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-health-care-professionals/for-physicians/physician-education-and-resources/physician-interviews/2023/october/lipid-management-part-3-apo-b-and-lipoprotein-a



Homocysteine and heart disease: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-021-01977-8



Flawed study or is it because not all LDL is bad? https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/cholesterol-and-statins



Reduction of ApoB and risk reduction of heart disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7489462/



TG:HDL ratio (Triglycerides to HDL): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664115/#:~:text=3%20The%20ratio%20of%20triglycerides,lower%20than%20this%20value4.



NICE recommendation for statins:

https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2023/january/nice-recommends-statins-should-be-a-choice-for-more-people-to-prevent-heart-attacks-and-strokes

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