It's all true
I don’t really believe that there is a secret cabal that seeks to push unproven drugs on an unsuspecting public. I do however believe that Pharmaceutical companies are inherently greedy. If they can get drugs out early, they will. If they can use doctors to act as a salesforce, they will. Their primary loyalty is to their shareholders. None of this is in any way contentious. All of this was true when Thalidomide was made available ‘over the counter’ in Germany in 1957. One of the uses was to treat morning sickness but it caused severe birth defects in tens of thousands. It was taken off the market in 1961. It is now used to treat some cancers and leprosy among other things.
I am not here simply to vilify drug companies and doctors. I believe most ‘mistakes’ are made as a result of ineptness not malice. Nonetheless statins are probably one of the most profitable drugs of all time. Certainly one of the most widely prescribed. Another point around the whole issue is one of dogma. It was very certainly true that when I was put on statins in 2004, they were seen as the holy grail in cardiac medicine. Any dissent against their use was crushed. When I objected, I was roundly vilified and even warned that continued dissent may result in an existential threat to my life, that being from the medical profession itself. However, received wisdom has evolved. Doctors are much more willing, in general, to accept that statins are not necessarily the go to medication to treat mild risk of cardio-vascular disease. Many are, though. Dogma can evolve very quickly but mostly change happens slowly. Once you have an idea in your head and believe it to be absolutely true, it is very hard to get rid of it or change it even if you are presented with evidence that challenges that perceived truth. Perhaps the real point in all this is that treating heart disease is very profitable. Rates of death continue to rise. Surely it must be possible to prevent heart disease in the first place or at least do whatever you can to ameliorate its impact on society. But there’s no profit in that.
Artforhearts.org is all about preventing heart disease, I sincerely believe that stress is the principle cause of heart disease. Or rather that the effects of stress are not properly resolved by the body. Modern life does not really lend itself to offsetting the effects of stress particularly because most stress is chronic. Perhaps the real epidemic is caused by a dysfunction of the fight flight response to stress. I sincerely believe that so long as you do something that you feel passionate about as a way to reduce stress then rates of heart disease will decrease. I can’t see anything wrong with this argument. Please support Art for Hearts and spread the word.