The Medical Advisor

What do physicians and stent companies have to say for themselves, given that they are promoting expensive, risky procedures with no benefit? Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. Angioplasty and stent placement continue to be frequently performed for patients with non-emergency coronary artery disease, despite clear evidence that it provides minimal benefit. For example, it does not prevent heart attacks or death, yet as many as 9 out of 10 patients mistakenly believed that the procedure would reduce their chances of having a heart attack. But at the same time—the cardiologists weren’t stupid— those who referred them for the stent and those who performed the procedure didn’t believe that. Okay, then why were they doing it? Focus groups of cardiologists have documented a chasm between knowledge and behavior. While aware of the evidence to the contrary,

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged on the highly profitable world of cholesterol meds, which in my opinion, is a great example of big pharma malfeasance. Remember that scene in The Godfather: Part 3 when Michael Corleone exclaims, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” so it was with a national news story involving “polypills” and WHO. Let’s dig in. The News Story This story appeared on my morning news feed: “Heart drug combining 3 medications in one is added to World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines”. The gist of this report was that the WHO added the “Polypill” which contains a statin, aspirin, and an ACE inhibitor blood pressure medicine, to its list of approved medications. This is a big deal, given that this means that many developing countries will now add purchasing Polypills to their national health strategies.  This was based on this quote from the story gleaned from a press release put out by Mount Sinai: “The polypill also reduced cardiovas

The demand for medications promising easy weight loss has skyrocketed, with prescriptions rising 2,082% from 2019 to 2022. 1   Semaglutide, more popularly known as Ozempic, is leading the pack, with the hashtag #Ozempic having received 1.2 billion views on TikTok 2   as of July 2023 — to give just some indication of its popularity. Semaglutide is sold under the name Ozempic as a diabetes drug and, in a higher dose, under the name Wegovy as a weight loss drug. It touts weight loss of 14.9% among adults with obesity, 3  but it comes at a steep price. Not only does Wegovy cost more than $1,000 a month, 4  it can also lead to debilitating side effects, including stomach paralysis. ‘I Wish I Never Touched It’ Joanie Knight took Ozempic for about two years, when she became unable to swallow food. The reason? Her stomach was full of food. Violent vomiting and constant nausea followed, along with a diagnosis of severe gastroparesis, or delayed gastric emptying. 5 "I wish I never touched i