Medical Misinformation

Le résumé fourni par la source

Mrs.Jones, based on your risk factors for having a heart attack, I recommend that we start you on a statin.""No, thank you, Doctor, I've read too many scary things about those drugs on the internet.Plus, I worry that some in your profession make these recommendations for reasons of personal financial gain.I also found that online."Undoubtedly, the majority of cardiologists have had conversations just like this, urging a patient to take a statin, a powerful cholesterol-lowering drug with robust mortality benefit.Part of the reason these oftentimes nobrainer recommendations are rejected derives from widely disseminated incorrect information that vastly over states the risks of these drugs.(Of course, like anything in life, the use of statins is not entirely risk-free; their application should always entail a thoughtful analysis of risks vs. benefits.)Most patients do not recognize that the benefits of statin use are invisible ("I didn't have a heart attack or stroke this past year"), whereas the small and typically reversible risks (e.g., muscle pain) are readily apparent.Many patients who would benefit from statin use do not take them.

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