Having four stents and being on statins and having foregone a large number of my favorite foods in the last two years, this topic got more than my idle attention. I am trying not to get inflamed about it, but I can't remember why. Aspirin flavored ice cream anybody? Ask your cardiologist what stock he puts in statins, and what stock he owns.... My cardiologist said cholesterol reduction by various means reduces heart attacks, so whatever the mechanism is, inflammation reduction or black-box magic yet to be unveiled, he would go with cholesterol reduction.

Statins have indeed become an "assumed good," that almost everyone will have to take at some point. My husband was recently rather "bullied" into taking one by his own doctor. We went along, because despite our relative sophistication, most of us don't consider ourselves educated enough to truly question our docs. This, despite the fact that I work in the industry. This article really challenged the entrenched belief in the "badness" of cholesterol and the "goodness" of these drugs. It should encourage a very healthy questioning.

I came away from the article thinking that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I will probably never know enough about medicine to evaluate this controversy. I have to rely on my doctor and the sense of the medical community. I can try to understand my doctor and medical community, but my views are likely to be tainted by wishful thinking.

Once again the foxes are grauding the hen house...

I find this good journalism...due to the challenge to conventional wisdom and the clear connection to a recent article in Business Week mag. I am not an expert on medicine nor do i plan to become one. This does not prevent my making a few inquiries about a particular med. I remember when law prevented advertising of medicine.

This article is an eye opener. I think we all must take responsibility for our health care decisions and this article arms me with additional information to help me make my own decisions, rather than blindly relying upon those of the doctors. I have been on Lipitor for 15-20 years and just stopped it cold turkey in February so that I could monitor my diet and exercise and then have a blood test later to see for myself if, and to what extent, my blood work changes without the influence of a statin. This article gave me more information and confidence that I should take charge and make my own decisions.