Does anyone want to spend the effort to rebut the good doctor on the basis of the quality of the evidence he cites rather than personal experience?

Wrong, LDL-C is estimated using a formula that has never been published or reviewed.

The real key to properly estimating your risk for CAD is the LDL-P or LDL particle count.

Causation or correlation? Since LDL-C is only a rough estimate and there are other factors involved has it really been proven that lowering LDL benefits CAD? No, all we have now is a correlation - it's not clear if statins and cholesterol lowering drugs benefit the coronary system in other ways.

Why don't cholesterol lowering drugs see the same reduction in strokes as they do heart attacks? Allegedly cholesterol is to blame there to.

Inflammation is the real key to the puzzle. If your arteries are inflamed, cholesterol will be distributed to repair them. The more particles you have the more at risk you are of them getting lodged in your arteries.

From what I have read lately, it is suspected that the anti-inflammatory effect of statins is why they work, not the cholesterol-lowering. But who knows.

Are there any studies comparing statin treatment and anti inflammatory treatment and outcomes? I seem to remember a study comparing cardiovascular outcomes of different anti inflammatories - the stronger ones giving the most benefit, but it didn't include statins.

Lisa

Considering that when statins have their LDL-lowering capabilities disabled and still show anti-atherogenic effects, it's probably the anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic pieces of the puzzles.