Our forthcoming blog series offers a primer for Lipitor patients and their families. It aims to help people understand the objective truth about the side effects of statin drugs, like Lipitor. Whether you developed diabetes after taking Lipitor or suffered other highly unpleasant side effects, such as muscle or liver problems, this guide will explain why many people are now suing Pfizer, the maker of Lipitor. The goal of this series is to empower victims and their families, so they can take effective action, not only to obtain compensation but also to reclaim their health and peace of mind.
It is difficult to overstate the size and influence of the statin industry. Developed in the 1980s, statin drugs seemed to offer enormous potential for reducing heart disease. Physicians instinctively loved statins because they offered a quick, decisive way to lower levels of LDL cholesterol — the so-called “bad cholesterol” that many people (including many doctors) believe causes coronary artery disease and heart attacks.
In clinical trials, statin drugs, like Lipitor, DO lower cholesterol levels in patients, often substantially. Two questions loom, however. Contemplate these as you read this series:
- 1. Have the health benefits of statins been oversold?
- 2. Have the potential side effects of drugs like Lipitor been ignored or minimized by the press and the medical community?
Questioning the Orthodoxy
The mainstream medical establishment has embraced an idea about cholesterol and heart disease that experts in the field call the “malevolent cholesterol hypothesis.” This is the notion that high cholesterol levels cause heart disease. Thus, drugs (like statins) that can lower cholesterol levels should be able to prevent/reverse heart disease pretty well.
However, as this series will explore, the reality of the statin revolution has fallen far short of its promise. Heart disease rates have not been appreciably dented, despite the fact that the statin industry has ballooned into a $29 billion a year industry. Furthermore, many studies in respected medical journals repeatedly have questioned the value of statin therapy. At the same time, powerful evidence has emerged that drug manufacturers, like Pfizer, have downplayed, whitewashed, and in some cases actively suppressed evidence about the nasty and potentially deadly side effects of these drugs.
For insight into your Lipitor case, call the Davis & Crump team now at 800-277-0300 or email us at info@daviscrump.com.
