BMJ  2007;334:1087 (26 May), doi:10.1136/bmj.39224.456632.59

Observations

Poll results

Should women be offered cholesterol lowering drugs to prevent cardiovascular disease?

In the online poll following our 12 May Head to head debate (BMJ 2007;334:982-3), 19% of 184 respondents said yes and 81% said no. Here are some of the comments we received:

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

NO "The benefit is too small compared to possible disadvantages."

YES "Statins are safe and effective drugs. No one disputes their effectiveness in reducing cholesterol, a known cardiovascular risk factor. To prevent global epidemic of cardiovascular disease (CVD), statins should be offered to all eligible patients, along with interventions to improve adherence."

NO "In Western society we are overmedicating in so many ways. Let's get back to lifestyle basics. Cholesterol lowering therapy is notoriously poor for patient adherence, which means that it's unlikely to be cost effective."

NO "If women don't carry any mortal risk factors, and the level of cholesterol isn't very high, I think any cholesterol lowering drug mustn't be given easily before trying to change lifestyle."

YES "Everyone should be entitled to standard treatment to prevent CVD. Even though women may be protected by oestrogen till menopause there may be other risk factors such as hereditary factors, . . . [Full text of this article]

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Testing common sense

Fiona Godlee
BMJ 2007 334: 0. [Extract] [Full Text]

Online poll

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