Podcast appearances and mentions of steven nissen

Steven Nissen and C. Michael Gibson discuss using bempedoic acid to reduce MACE in statin-intolerant patients with high cardiovascular risk.

This episode is a deep dive into Lipoprotein a with Dr Steven Nissen from the Cleveland Clinic.  He and Dr Nero discuss the genetics of Lp(a), its pathophysiology, current treatment strategies and research into lowering Lp(a) levels.  This is a fascinating conversation that also discusses the role of coronary inflammation in the work of Dr. Paul Ridker as well as the role of CT angiography in future clinical trials.

Dr Steven Nissen from the Cleveland Clinic discuses with Dr. Thomas Nero the basic clinical approach to Lp(a) with need for routine testing and a few simple case studies.  In the second (longer podcast) they take a deep deep dive into Lp(a) genetic, pathophysiology and the current research trials.  

Steven Nissen and C. Michael Gibson discuss the efficacy and safety of lepodisiran, an extended duration short-interfering RNA meant to reduce lipoprotein (a).

Special guest Dave L. Dixon, PharmD, FACC, FAHA, FCCP, FNLA, BCACP, CDCES, CLS, the Nancy L. and Ronald H. McFarlane Professor of Pharmacy and Chair of the Department of Pharmacotherapy & Outcomes Science at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, joins us to talk about chronic coronary disease.Listen in as he discusses the management of chronic coronary disease with a focus on the new American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Anthony A. Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Associate Program Director, Tower Health System Internal Medicine Residency Program and Professor of Medicine at the Drexel University College of MedicineSteven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute and the Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve UniversityCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Dixon reports a relevant financial relationship [GLP-1 agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors] with Boehringer Ingelheim (grants/research support). Dr. Steven Nissen reports relevant financial relationships [cardiology] with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, MyoKardia, New Amsterdam Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support).The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.TRC Healthcare offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter or Prescriber's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.The clinical resources mentioned during the podcast are part of a subscription to Pharmacist's Letter and Prescriber's Letter: Toolbox: Optimizing Care of Patients with Coronary Artery DiseaseChart:  Dual Antiplatelet Therapy for Coronary Artery DiseaseChart:  Treatment of HypertensionIf you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter or Prescriber's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com.

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Special guest Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute and the Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine and a Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University joins us to talk about cardiovascular risks with testosterone.Listen in as they discuss the latest evidence regarding cardiovascular risks with testosterone replacement therapy in men with hypogonadism.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Douglas S. Paauw, MD, MACP, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington School of MedicineCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Steven Nissen reports relevant financial relationships [cardiology] with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, MyoKardia, New Amsterdam Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support). The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.TRC Healthcare offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter or Prescriber's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.The clinical resources mentioned during the podcast are part of a subscription to Pharmacist's Letter and Prescriber's Letter: [Chart]: Comparison of Testosterone ProductsIf you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter or Prescriber's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com.

Special guest Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine, and Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University joins us to talkabout LDL targets.Listen in as they debate whether to aim for a specific goal for LDL cholesterol.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Stephen Carek, MD, CAQSM, DipABLM, Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Prisma Health/USC-SOMG Family Medicine Residency Program at the USC School of Medicine GreenvilleAndrea Darby Stewart, MD, Associate Director, Honor Health Family Medicine Residency Program and Clinical Professor of Family, Community & Occupational Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - PhoenixAnthony A. Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Associate Director, Reading Health System Internal Medicine Residency Program and Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversityCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Steven Nissen reports relevant financial relationships [cardiology] with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, MyoKardia, New Amsterdam Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support).The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.Pharmacist's Letter offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.The clinical resources mentioned during the podcast are part of a subscription to Pharmacist's Letter: FAQ: Cholesterol Guidelines (United States)If you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com.

Host: John Buse, MD, PhD Guest: Steven Nissen, MD Among statin-intolerant patients, treatment with bempedoic acid is associated with a lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events according to a recent study. Dive into the study's key findings with Dr. John Buse and Dr. Steven Nissen, who published the placebo-controlled study of bempedoic acid among statin-intolerant patients in The New England Journal.

Special guest Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine, and Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University joins us to talk about non-statins for LDL lowering.Listen in as they debate which non-statin to use for LDL lowering...due to recent headlines about bempedoic acid.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Reid B. Blackwelder, MD, FAAFP, Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Medical Education at East Tennessee State UniversityAndrea Darby Stewart, MD, Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency at Honor HealthAnthony A. Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine from the Reading Health System, and Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversityDouglas S. Paauw, MD, MACP, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington School of MedicineCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Steven Nissen reports relevant financial relationships [cardiology] with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, MyoKardia, New Amsterdam Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support). The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.Pharmacist's Letter offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.If you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com.

Drugs known as statins are the first-choice treatment for high cholesterol but millions of people who can't or won't take those pills because of side effects may have another option. In a major study, a different kind of cholesterol-lowering drug named Nexletol reduced the risk of heart attacks and some other cardiovascular problems in people who can't tolerate statins, researchers reported. Doctors already prescribe the drug, known chemically as bempedoic acid, to be used together with a statin to help certain high-risk patients further lower their cholesterol. The new study tested Nexletol without the statin combination -- and offers the first evidence that it also reduces the risk of cholesterol-caused health problems. Statins remain “the cornerstone of cholesterol-lowering therapies,” stressed Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic, who led the study. But people who can't take those proven pills “are very needy patients, they're extremely difficult to treat,” he said. This option “will have a huge impact on public health.” Too much so-called LDL or “bad” cholesterol can clog arteries and lead to heart attacks and strokes. Statin pills like Lipitor and Crestor – or their cheap generic equivalents – are the mainstay for lowering LDL cholesterol and preventing heart disease or treating those who already have it. They work by blocking some of the liver's cholesterol production. But some people suffer serious muscle pain from statins. While it's not clear exactly how often that occurs, by some estimates 10% of people who'd otherwise qualify for the pills can't or won't take them. They have limited options, including pricey cholesterol-lowering shots and another kind of pill sold as Zetia. Nexletol also blocks cholesterol production in the liver but in a different way than statins and without that muscle side effect.  This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Special guest Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine, and Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University joins us to talk about medications for type 2 diabetes.Listen in as they debate whether metformin should still be first-line for all patients with type 2 diabetes...and discuss the role of GLP-1 agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors in these patients.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Reid B. Blackwelder, MD, FAAFP, Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Medical Education at East Tennessee State UniversityAnthony A. Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine from the Reading Health System, and Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversityCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Steven Nissen reports a relevant financial relationship with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support). The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.Pharmacist's Letter offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.If you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com.

Headache medicine specialist Rebecca C. Burch, MD, joins us to talk about triptan use in patients with cardiovascular risk factors.Listen in as they clear up confusion about which patients should avoid triptans due to cardiovascular concerns.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Anthony A. Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine from the Reading Health System, and Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversitySteven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute and the Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve UniversityJoseph Scherger, MD, MPH, Family Physician, Primary Care 365, Eisenhower HealthCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Steven Nissen reports a relevant financial relationship with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support). The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.Pharmacist's Letter offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.If you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com. 

Special guest Carolyn J. Crandall, MD, MS, MACP, Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine joins us to talk about hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms.Listen in as they clarify when and how to use hormone therapy to manage menopausal symptoms.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Reid B. Blackwelder, MD, FAAFP, Associate Dean of Graduate and Continuing Medical Education at East Tennessee State UniversityAndrea Darby Stewart, MD, Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency at Honor Health Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute and the Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Steven Nissen reports a relevant financial relationship with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support). The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.Pharmacist's Letter offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.If you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com. 

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) causes thickening of the heart muscle, left ventricular stiffness, mitral valve changes and cellular changes. For many years, management of this condition was surgery or alcohol ablation. Mavacamten is the first FDA approved drug to help treat patients with HCM. Drs. Steven Nissen and Milind Desai talk about this novel treatment option and the benefits of being treated by a specialized center.

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known as omega 3s or fish oil, claim to have a benefit for cardiovascular health. Dr. Steven Nissen and Dr. Luke Laffin discuss the results of recent trials focusing on the use of N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and if the effects live up to the marketed claims or if they have more undesirable effects.

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known as omega 3s or fish oil, claim to have a benefit for cardiovascular health. Dr. Steven Nissen and Dr. Luke Laffin discuss the results of recent trials focusing on the use of N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and if the effects live up to the marketed claims or if they have more undesirable effects.

TRC Editor, Dr. Lori Dickerson, PharmD, FCCP talks with Joseph Saseen, PharmD, FCCP, FNLA, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Professor, Department of Family Medicine from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus about managing statin intolerance. Listen in as they discuss how to evaluate statin-associated muscle pain...and review strategies to help patients take a statin successfully. You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Andrea Darby Stewart, MD, Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency at Honor HealthAnthony A. Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine from the Reading Health System, and Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversitySteven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute and the Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve UniversityJoseph Scherger, MD, MPH, Family Physician, Primary Care 365, Eisenhower HealthCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Steven Nissen reports a relevant financial relationship with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support).The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.Pharmacist's Letter offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.If you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com. 

Observational data suggest that the risk of certain types of cancer may be increased in individuals with obesity and that this risk may be lower after bariatric surgery. JAMA Deputy Editor Gregory Curfman, MD, explores this in detail with Steven Nissen, MD, an author of a JAMA study on this topic, and Anita Courcoulas, MD, MPH, author of an accompanying editorial. Related Content: Association of Bariatric Surgery With Cancer Risk and Mortality in Adults With Obesity Bariatric Surgery and Cancer Risk

TRC Editor, Dr. Lori Dickerson, PharmD, FCCP talks with two distinguished experts about new heart failure guidelines. Carolyn Lam, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School and a Senior Consultant at the National Heart Centre SingaporeSteven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, the Chief Academic Officer at the Heart and Vascular Institute and the Lewis and Patricia Dickey Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve UniversityListen in as they discuss new guidelines for managing heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)...and put this new guidance in perspective.You'll also hear practical advice from panelists on TRC's Editorial Advisory Board:Andrea Darby Stewart, MD, Associate Director, Family Medicine Residency at Honor HealthAnthony A. Donato, Jr., MD, MHPE, Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine from the Reading Health System, and Professor of Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson UniversityCraig D. Williams, PharmD, FNLA, BCPS, Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Oregon Health and Science UniversityFor the purposes of disclosure, Dr. Carolyn Lam reports relevant financial relationships with Bayer, Roche Diagnostics (grants/research support); Abbott, Actelion, Alleviant Medical, Allysta Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, AnaCardio AB, Applied Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Scientific, Cytokinetics, Darma Inc., EchoNous Inc, Impulse Dynamics, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche Diagnostics, Sanofi, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Us2.ai (advisory board/steering committee/executive committee); Us2.ai (stock shareholder); Us2.ai (non-executive director).Dr. Steven Nissen reports a relevant financial relationship with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Esperion, Medtronic, Novartis, Pfizer, Silence Therapeutics (grants/research support).The other speakers have nothing to disclose. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.Pharmacist's Letter offers CE credit for this podcast. Log in to your Pharmacist's Letter account and look for the title of this podcast in the list of available CE courses.If you're not yet a Pharmacist's Letter subscriber, find out more about our product offerings at trchealthcare.com. Follow or subscribe, rate, and review this show in your favorite podcast app. You can also reach out to provide feedback or make suggestions by emailing us at ContactUs@trchealthcare.com. 

Access to medical providers can be a challenge for many patients. Steven Nissen, MD, Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute Chief Academic Officer, describes one approach to help improve patient access to nonprescription statin therapy. Technology-assisted self-selection showed to be an effect method of screening patients compared to clinician screening.

Being able to see your doctor or get medications can be challenging for some patients. Steven Nissen, MD, Chief Academic Officer for Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, talks about how in the future there may be a way to help get medications to those in need. Before a process like this is available, it must be proven safe.

Presented at the American College of Cardiology as a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial, the Cleveland Clinic-led APOLLO trial explores siRNA therapy as a treatment option to help prevent premature heart disease in people with high levels of Lp(a). This condition is estimated to affect 64 million people in the United States and 1.4 billion people worldwide. It is estimated that nearly 20 to 25% of the world's population has elevated Lp(a). Dr. Steven Nissen, M.D., Chief Academic Officer of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic explains the purpose, patient selection, and findings of APOLLO.

Presented at ACC as a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial, VALOR-HCM explores Mavacamten as an alternative to surgical septal myectomy or alcohol ablation in patients with severely symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Steven Nissen and Dr. Milind Desai, principal investigator, discuss the purpose, patient selection, and findings of the VALOR-HCM trial.

C. Michael Gibson and Steven Nissen discuss the link between omega-3 fatty acid levels and MACE in patients with high cardiovascular risk.

With all the hype about cholesterol, where does the truth lie? On one hand, some doctors recommend EVERYONE be placed on a statin (cholesterol lowering medication) regardless if their cholesterol levels are high or not. On the other hand, some experts report that statins are unnecessary and cholesterol is both essential and good for us. So, where does the current research fit into this picture? Let's look at a July 2015 Harvard School of Public Health publication that reported “….it would be cost effective to treat 48-67% of all adults aged 40-75 in the [United States] with cholesterol-lowering statins. By expanding the current recommended treatment guidelines and boosting the percentage of adults taking statins, an additional 161,560 cardiovascular-related events could be averted.” The authors of the report start their discussion by recognizing the “new cholesterol treatment guidelines have been controversial” and seek to weigh the pros and cons of their recommendation. They point out that on one side, “there is strong evidence that statins reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke” and on the other, they report that “…more people would be at increased risk for negative side effects, such as memory loss, type 2 diabetes, and muscle damage.” Of interest, in November 2013, the American Heart Association and others recommended that statins be prescribed for people with a 7.5% or greater risk of heart attack or stroke over a 10-year period (down from 10-20% or higher in previous guidelines), including many with no existing cardiovascular issues. An article in the July edition of Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports the 7.5% was acceptable in terms of cost-effectiveness, “…but more lenient treatment thresholds of ≥3.0-4.0% would be “optimal…and would avert an estimated additional 125,000-160,000 CVD-events.” The opposing camp regarding cholesterol management says that inflammation is at the core of heart disease and stroke, NOT cholesterol. Moreover, RAISING the amount of cholesterol-rich foods in our diet is reportedly WISE since only a small amount of our body's cholesterol actually comes from diet and most is produced by the liver. Cleveland Clinic's cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen says we NEED cholesterol, a theory that is now embraced by the new 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), as they have taken a TOTAL about-face compared with their 2010 recommendations (which had “stood” strong since the 1960s). The DGAC are now stating that “cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.” Other researchers say lowering dietary cholesterol is likely causing far more harm than good. Our cell membranes, as well as activity that goes on INSIDE our cells, our liver (cholesterol is a precursor to bile acids needed to digest the fat we eat), our digestive system, and our brain (which contains 25% of the cholesterol in our body) REQUIRE adequate cholesterol levels. Low levels of HDL cholesterol have been linked to several brain-related malfunctions including depression, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, violent behavior, and suicide. Also, cholesterol provides insulation for our nerve cells and plays an important role in the production of hormones (particularly testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen). Cholesterol is also important for the production of vitamin D, as when sunlight hits our skin, the cholesterol in the skin is converted into the vitamin. Obviously, we have a choice: limit / reduce our cholesterol or embrace it. Which camp appeals to you the most? www.PainReliefChiroOnline.com